Nigerian-born Pamela Uba, made history as the first black woman to win the Miss Ireland pageant, after her victory in the recently concluded competition.
Uba, who has Nigerian parents, was crowned Miss Ireland 2021 this month and became the first black person to hold the title after 74 years of the contest.
In this piece, The Punch highlights five things you need to know about Uba, the first black Miss Ireland.
Early life
Uba was born to Nigerian parents in South Africa in 1995. She, however, left South Africa for Ireland as an asylum seeker, when she was seven, according to Irish Times.
Life in Ireland
Uba is the eldest of six siblings and has revealed that she is a “very proud” Irish citizen. According to her, she cried when she got her Irish passport.
Education
For Uba, school and sport helped her to endure the challenges she faced as an asylum seeker in Ireland. As a teenager, she played football.
She got her degree in medical science from Galway and furthered her education in Trinity College Dublin, with a Master’s Degree in clinical chemistry.
As a medical scientist, Uba worked at the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic surge in the country. She worked at the Galway University Hospital.
Her job at the hospital was to monitor the inflammatory process in patients who has contracted COVID-19.
Pageantry
Uba’s journey into pageantry began in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and she emerged as Miss Galway, even without any prior modeling experience.
With her recent win as Miss Ireland, she would be representing the country in the 70th Miss World Competition, scheduled to hold in December 2021.
