Although her win qualified her to represent the country at Miss Universe 1997 , Redmond – who had deferred a place at Maynooth College to prepare for the pageant – was controversially replaced by Miss Ireland second runner-up Fiona Mullaly . When queried , pageant boss Kieran Murray stated that Mullaly was best suited to represent Ireland , and his decision to remove Redmond was a bid to raise the standard and profile of Miss Ireland . Redmond had previously been a contestant at Miss World 1996 where she was a favourite , but did not place , and former Miss Ireland boss Krish Naidoo , who defended Murray , claimed that Redmond had failed to impress the judges because she had given up completely
Miss World 1996
Miss World 1996
Niamh Redmond