Luck of the Irish! Meet the first ever openly gay Miss America entrant
Erin O'Flaherty was crowned Miss Missouri last weekend in the United States, and made history in the process.
Erin, 23, is the first ever openly gay contestant to take part in the Miss America pageant, and with a name like that, it would be hard to deny her Irish roots.
Erin, who came out when she was 18, has Irish heritage on both sides of her family, and we are chuffed to call her one of us.
This red-haired beauty was crowned Miss Missouri last week, and is set to take part in the Miss America contest tonight, in the hopes she'll be crowned the first openly gay winner.
Erin is a college graduate, with a degree in legal studies. She also owns a boutique clothing shop, Rachel’s Grove in St. Louis, with her mum, aunt and sister.
When asked about her win, Erin said "I'm on cloud nine really just to be Miss Missouri. I don't know that I intended to be the first gay contestant but I am. So I'm very excited about it.”
Erin, who was raised on a farm, spoke to the Associated Press ahead of the competition, which started earlier this week.
"I knew going in that I had the opportunity to make history. Now I get to be more visible to the community and meet more people."
The Miss America competition will air this evening in the United States, and we are TEAM MISSOURI!
