Lisnaskea girl Anne-Marie Foster has been crowned the 2008 Fermanagh Rose.
The coveted title plus a 1,000 euro prize fund was up for grabs at a lavish gala function held in the Slieve Russell Hotel on Sunday night.
The 19-year-old, a daughter of William and Kate, works as a secretary at McElwaine's in Lisnaskea. It was there she explains, that she was encouraged by her colleagues to enter the Fermanagh heat.
"It was always something I wanted to do. Then a fax came through at work from the Rose of Tralee, and I had also read about it in the Fermanagh Herald. So then Stephen Johnston, who I work, with phoned up and that's how I got entered."
Anne-Marie now goes forward to represent the county at the Irish Regional Final in Portlaoise in June.
This event is held every year prior to the Rose of Tralee International Festival to determine which Irish Roses represent their counties at the International Final in August. Hosted by Ray D'Arcy, the Final Selection from the regional final chooses six Roses from those representing counties throughout Ireland. If Anne-Marie is successful there, she will go on to join Roses from Dublin, Cork, and Kerry, making a total of nine Roses from Ireland represented at the International Festival.
In all, 14 young women from across the county took to the stage on Sunday night in the Slieve Russell Hotel in a bid to impress a 500-strong audience and a judging panel with their personalities.
And, it was a delighted, if not somewhat shocked Anne-Marie who took the title.
"The girl beside me had to poke me and re-say that I had won," she remarked. "I think my mouth just hit the floor!"
After an initial meeting with her fellow contestants on a boat trip on Lough Erne earlier last month, Anne-Marie experienced a long but enjoyable day in front of a judging panel which included Fermanagh Herald journalist, Aileen Murphy; Sharwan Varma, from the SKV Group, Enniskillen; along with a representative from the Rose of Tralee Festival. The evening event was compered by Brendan McArdle.
"We had to be there for nine in the morning," Anne-Marie explains. "Then we had single interviews with the judges. They asked about our likes and dislikes, a bit about ourselves and the last question which was a bit hard was: 'there are 13 other Roses out there, what makes you so different?'. So I just said take me as you see me, there are no back doors."
After a break for lunch, the contestants were split into two groups to discuss three topics while the judges looked on.
"The first topic was house husbands which was very funny, the second was on the Olympics and the third was about celebrities. We then got a break to have our hair and make-up done before rehearsals."
Anne-Marie was accompanied on the night by her boyfriend and escort, Martin Armitage, and by a 30-strong contingent of family, friends and work colleagues.
"There were over 500 there on the night,' she recalled, "so I was really nervous before going on stage. We were asked pretty much the same questions and then I finished up with my party piece when I sang 'Fields of Gold'. Then the winner was announced after half 12."
Looking ahead to the regional finals next month, Anne-Marie is hoping Aisling Reihill, the outgoing Fermanagh Rose will have plenty of advice to point her in the right direction.
But, for now, Anne-Marie says she is honoured to be representing the county on the national stage.
"It means a great deal to me and hopefully I can do the people of Fermanagh proud."
