Rose of Tralee contestant Lisa Reilly has admitted she nearly burst into tears when Fathers4Justice founder Matt O’Connor crashed the stage.
The Cavan Rose was left shocked when Matt jumped on stage live on RTE, holding a sign in protest.
“I was very, very close to bursting out crying, I’m not going to lie,” she admitted.
“Daithi gave me a bit of a squeeze and all the audience stood up so I kept going,” she told the Irish Mirror.
“Everyone gave me a standing ovation, especially the escorts and my fellow Roses, that gave me the push to be like, ‘Lisa you need to do this’.
“It was the first time in eight years there was a Cavan Rose so I wasn’t going to let people down. So I did it, I really don’t know how.
“It’s more of a blur, I don’t have a clue what I said, I can’t really remember,” she explained.
“I think I composed myself well, so I hope people will take that into account and recognise that rather than the incident itself and not give too much publicity to this man.
“He thought he was doing good for his cause, but there’s a time and a place and I don’t think the Rose of Tralee was it.”
Check out the winner of the 2016 Rose of Tralee right HERE.
