Maria Walsh has admitted she thought her time in the spotlight was finished once her Rose of Tralee reign was over.
The Shrule native has just broken out onto the TV presenting scene after she held the coveted title in 2014, and despite her success the model still feels insecure.
“I thought after the Rose of Tralee, I thought my year in the spotlight would essentially cease, but it’s nice people are interested in me,” she said.
Honour: The former Rose of Tralee was honoured at the Irish Tatler Women of the Year Awards | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Hopefully, I can align myself with interesting things.”
Meanwhile, the brunette beauty has revealed that she is still getting used to her new-found fame after she was acknowledged at the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Awards over the weekend.
“I’m going through bouts of imposter syndrome to be honest with you because nine women took the stage with me,” she said.
“How do you stand beside Senator (Katherine) Zappone and Ursula Halligan?”
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“My story was just my story and I felt that I probably didn’t deserve a place on the stage. It was an amazing moment and I was genuinely surprised, like many of the winners at the awards on Saturday night,” she added.
Opening up about coming out in 2014, the Mayo woman said she hoped that her story sparked conversation about sexuality in Ireland.
“I guess because I have been living as a gay person for so long that it was just my normality,” she told the Herald.
“Do I think it started some conversations around some dinner tables? Yeah and, hopefully, got a few more younger people comfortable in their sexuality.”
