Sydney Rose Brianna Parkins divided opinions said she wants to see a referendum of repealing the eight amendment held.
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RTE and the Rose of Tralee organisers apologised for upsetting Fainche but said she knew she owuld be filmed at all times.
‘In Australia we just had our funding cut for domestic violence shelters, so we’re having women who are being turned away on a nightly basis, ‘ she explained.
The eighth amendment to Ireland’s constitution criminalises abortion, and activists have been fighting for it to be repealed for many years.
This year’s Rose of Tralee International Festival has 65 Roses, including Zoe McGettigan, the Donegal Rose, and Eimear Cassidy, the Derry Rose.
“This is just a wonderful dream come true”, she told RTE’s Morning Ireland.
The Rose of Tralee competition in Ireland doesn’t traditionally find itself at the epicentre of a social media storm, but when Sydney Rose Brianna Parkins took the stage during Monday night’s final, the festival took an unexpected political turn.
“We didn’t always fit, like the times my granny insisted on bringing a teapot to the beach, but I’m so proud of where I come from”. “Which is a wonderful part of it, it’s a handsome aspect of the festival as well, but there’s so much more that goes into it so I look forward to creating awareness for that”. It seemed natural to talk about, as a women’s rights campaigner…
So a festival celebrating women in Ireland is no place to discuss human rights issues affecting women in Ireland. “We can’t say we empower women [while] denying reproductive rights”, she said.
“It’s more of a blur, I don’t have a clue what I said, I can’t really remember”, she explained.
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“I can deal with nasty words, I’m a journalist; but the response here has been overwhelmingly positive”, she said.
