What is the Story of the Miss Alternative Ireland? 

Launched in April 2001, The Story Of Alternative Miss Ireland tells the tale of the popular pageant with dozens of articles and tons of promotional material and photos.

The site was produced with the co-operation of the Irish Queer Archives, a huge resource of books, magazines, newspaper clippings and other ephemera relating to Irish gay life. It’s managed on a tiny budget by the National Lesbian And Gay Federation, and is run by Tonie Walsh.

The aim was to take the material the archives held on the contest, and expand upon it, presenting it in a way that would be accessible to all. A website was the perfect solution, allowing the material to be presented on a worldwide platform that could promote Alternative Miss Ireland and the Archives to a global audience.

It has certainly met these goals. Since July, the site has received over 1000 visitors, from all over the world including Australia, Russia, the USA, Saudi Arabia and Japan! The site was also recently featured in Sydney’s weekly gay newspaper SX, with a glowing review, which has sparked a lot of interest from Sydney’s world renowned drag performers.  

So what is actually on the website ?

First and foremost, it takes an in depth look at each of the contests dating back to the very first in 1987. Each contest  section includes full details on the contest, promotional material, press clippings and some great photos! There are over 300 pictures, many of which have never been published anywhere before! A key part of the site is a profile of all of the charities that money has been raised for. These include Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Dublin AIDS Alliance, Cairde and Open Heart House.

The site also includes the latest news about the contest and what winners and performers are up to at the moment. News is kindly provided by Gay-Ireland.com, which also provides many other articles included in the comprehensive Links section. There is also a  look at related events, such as Alternative Miss Limerick, Alternative Miss World and Alternative Miss London. You can also find out all about The Irish Queer Archives.

What are the future plans for the site ?

With the 2002 contest due to take place in March, there are of course plans to bring the readers a comprehensive range of articles and photos. There is also ongoing work to publish dozens more pictures from all the old contests, and maybe video clips of actual performances. With the whole point of the event being to raise money for good causes, it’s hoped the site will be able to show how the money raised has been spent over the years.

 By Chris - December 2001 
All Material (c) Irish Queer Archives/Chris Fildes