19 year-old Laura Patterson is the newly crowned Miss Ireland 2009 - She will represent Ireland in the Miss World 2009 held in South Africa

Miss Ireland 2009
Laura Patterson will represent Ireland in Miss World

DUBLIN, September 30, 2009 - Laura Patterson (19) beat 31 competitors to win the pageant at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, on Saturday night.

The student and part-time model will now represent Ireland in the Miss World finals in South Africa later this year.

"I was very surprised. I think in every competition, you always have your favourites picked in your own head, and it's never yourself," she said.

"You always have three or four girls in your head who are going to take it home.

"I wasn't a favourite at all, I think I was 20-1."

Good odds for Laura's boyfriend who had put a £20 wager on her win.

Now the countdown to the finals in South Africa begins.

"It's all very daunting, but it's a very prestigious thing," she said.

"When I got up yesterday morning there were dress designers waiting to talk to me about outfits for the finals."

Laura is a law and accountancy student at the University of Ulster's Magee campus in Derry. She is a former Miss Teen Ireland winner. Courtesy BBC News

(Thank you and credits to http://www.globalbeauties.com and all sources for the information and pictures)