Bruff RFC Dinner Dance

Hi Everyone,

On Friday, the 13th of May I got all dolled up and headed off to the Bruff RFC Dinner Dance as a guest of the Cliona Ring Foundation.The Cliona Ring Foundation was established by Brendan and Terry Ring after they lost their incredibly brave daughter Cliona to an inoperable brain tumour. The foundation helps the families of children with life-threatening illnesses with their non-medical expenses. For more information on the charity and to view the ILoveLimerick.com documentary on the Cliona Ring Foundation, visit the website by clicking here.

The Bruff RFC and the Cliona Ring Foundation are very involved with one another. Back in January when I attended the Cliona Ring Foundation Commemorative Night, one of the highlights of the evening was the team being presented with a plaque to mark their success (just take a look at the amount of silverware in the picture below!). Bruff RFC is in turn also very good in supporting the foundation and frequently raises funds for it.

The event took place in the Dunraven Arms Hotel in my hometown of Adare, Co. Limerick. The evening included a four-course meal, entertainment into the wee hours of the morning and a silent auction in aid of the Cliona Ring Foundation and the Bruff RFC Under Age which raised approximately €2,000 to be split between the two charities, wrapping up the season with a great night.

I wore yet another beautiful Rachel Gilbert gown from the Ivory Closet, Limerick. Kayleigh in the River Hair Studio gave me a few extra inches in the form of a huge up do (definitely my style). Claire Kelly did my make-up.

A huge thank you to Brendan and Terry Ring for inviting Adam and I. We had a great night!

Now to leave you with some more photos...

Hair by the River Hair Studio. Make-up by Claire Kelly. Shirt from 7 Camicie Limerick. 

Dress from the Ivory Closet - Dress Hire, Limerick. 

Until Next Time,
Sami Long
Miss United Nation Ireland 2010
Miss United Nation Europe 2010

Upcoming Event: Dublin Zombie Walk 2011

If you were lucky enough to be in Dublin on June 26^th of last year, then you probably noticed a huge crowd of people dressed up as zombies in order to raise funds for charity. I did not learn of Dublin Zombie Walk 2010 in time to participate but this year, I will be leading the walk as a zombified Miss United Nation Europe!!!

It may surprise you to learn that I love zombie movies and am a lil obsessed with the living dead (to say the least!). It’s not really something you expect of a “beauty queen”… or a vegetarian. I have always wanted to dress up as a zombie, stagger around moaning whilst dripping with fake blood. There have been too many years to count where I planned on dressing up as a zombie for Hallowe’en but, for whatever reason, it never happened. This year, I not only finally get to wander out looking truly disgusting but you can join me!

If there is anyone out there like me (well, probably not the beauty-queen-zombie-obsessive part, just think zombie-obsessive) then you too can come along and take part in Dublin Zombie Walk on the 23^rd of July. Not only do we get to roam the streets, but we will also be helping to raise money for two very important charities – the Irish Cancer Society and The RNLI.

Photo by David Williams - DZW 2010

2010 marked the first year the Walk took place, organised by Eamonn Doyle, Pauline Whaine and Mark Hall. The main purpose of the event is a fundraiser, the rationale behind which being that the general public would take more notice of a huge group of zombies as opposed to a couple of people standing on the streets with collection buckets.

Pretty much anyone can participate but the DZW requires certain particular roles which you can volunteer for by registering here.

Check out the following list of the various volunteers needed:

STEWARDS
(Centre for Disease Control)
You would be in control of the walk direction, ensuring that people are not straying from the walk, that children are not being pushed and frightened, that no one is acting inappropriately or damaging any property and so on.

COLLECTORS
(Heroes)
You are the life blood of the walk and without a number of people volunteering to collect using buckets along the walk then the walk would be nothing, so please get in contact with us if you would like to have this responsibility.

MAKE-UP ARTISTS
(The Virus)
Without your skill and creative ways in which to infect people on the day we'd be lost. We need as many make up artists as possible to make sure that people are in costume and looking the part. Also we are hoping for a large number of people to join the walk and they will need to be infected!!!
Black eye circles and a bit of blood should do the trick.

ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!
Last but not least we need ZOMBIES!!!!
Check out the sign up page and register so we can know the sheer massive numbers that will be turning up for the biggest Zombie walk in Irish history part 2!!

I hope to be very involved in this event so keep an eye out for my updates, etc. over the next few months.

On the 20^th of May, there is a photo call taking place for the event. We currently need about 15 – 30 zombies to take part so if you feel like participating in this “Mini Zombie Walk” and getting a feel for what the big event is going to be like, please leave a comment on the Dublin Zombie Walk facebook group by clicking here. More details coming soon.

For more information and videos of last year’s walk, check out the official DZW website here.

Also be sure to check out the facebook event invitation and the facebook group.

Until Next Time,
Sami Long
Miss United Nation Ireland 2010
Miss United Nation Europe 2010

Miss University Ireland Final 2011

I’ve often been asked about my journey to becoming a “titleholder”. I came across the United Nation pageant on facebook but it was not my first modelling competition/pageant. While I was in first year in law, I was selected as a finalist in Ucc’s Next Top Model 2009. For me, this was a huge confidence booster as I never in a million years thought I’d be selected - I actually had to double check when I received the message telling me I was a finalist because I thought it was someone messing with me! Unfortunately, I got eliminated after the first photo shoot (along with half of the eighteen contestants). 

Photo by Alexander Paton - UNTM 2009

The next competition was Diva Next Door in the summer of the same year but I was on holidays at the time I was entered into a poll on bebo and so could not campaign for votes. 

The final comp I entered before coming across the United Nation pageant system was Miss University Ireland, which I was contacted about by one of the organisers (again, on facebook) and asked if I would like to compete in. I put my name forward for Miss UCC but when it came to interview time on the phone, I had just arrived in Strasbourg and so could not participate.

This year, I had a free evening and so attended the 2011 Final of the competition in Dandelion nightclub on the 14^th of April. A school friend of mine, Sophie La Touche, was competing as the representative for Mallow College and I also knew a couple of the other finalists. I thought it was important to go along and support one of the competitions that helped me along the way and also to cheer on the contestants.

Congratulations to Holly Carpenter who won the title of Miss University 2011 on the night and will go on to compete in the Miss Ireland final. 

Until Next Time,

Sami Long

Miss United Nation Ireland 2010

Miss United Nation Europe 2010