Miss Ireland’s Tops the World!.

SHE did it! Miss Ireland, Rosanna Davison, is officially the most fabulous woman on the planet after her win at the Miss World 2003 pageant staged in China on Saturday. It’s the first time an Irish beauty queen has had her head topped with the tiara in the contest’s 53-year history.

Seeing as she won the “Beach Beauty” competition a few days previous — thanks in part to a skimpy yellow and pink bikini showing off her perfectly toned abs — it wasn’t too much of a surprise that Rosanna came away with the top prize, beating out 105 other lovelies in the process.

“I was just so thrilled about being placed in the top five. I didn’t think I’d get this far,” she gushed after impressing the likes of celebrity judges Jackie Chan and Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell.

The 19-year-old, whose future career prospects have definitely taken a turn for the better, is a journalism student at University College Dublin when she’s not standing in front of a mirror. As we told you last week in this space, she’s also the daughter of singer Chris de Burgh, who gave the world his “Lady in Red” song, and his wife Diane.

The de Burghs, whose marriage was in crisis several years ago when Chris had an affair with Rosanna’s nanny, were on hand to watch their daughter take her turn on the world stage. “I am thrilled, ecstatic and overwhelmed,” said Chris when his daughter was crowned. “I love my daughter. She is so beautiful.”

And also taken. Rosanna’s boyfriend, fellow student James Montgomery, was also in the audience to cheer her on. And how does it feel to be dating a Miss World winner? “She has done Ireland proud. I’ll be the envy of the world!” he said.

Miss Canada’s fair maiden was the runner-up, and China’s contestant finished third. The pageant was staged in China for the first time and was free of the controversy which plagued last year’s event, when it had to be moved to London from Nigeria after heavy fighting broke out between Muslim and Christian groups.

Rosanna will start cashing in on her new-found fame instantly. As winner she received Œ82,000 – close to $100,000 – and requests for appearances and endorsements are pouring in. But she’ll also have her fair share of commitments to the Miss World organization, so she’ll take the next year off from school. 

“At the moment I just feel like I need to sleep for a month,” she said, but there’s no rest for the beautiful. She’s already done a round of publicity in London, and will return to Ireland on Wednesday of this week for a while.

“Rosie will be a committed ambassador as Miss World,” said her dad. “I know she will throw her heart and soul into the year and the work ahead.”

Though she paraded around the stage in a variety of gowns during the final two-hours of the competition, she was crowned in a fuschia pink number instead of the red one many pundits thought she’d wear in homage to her dad’s song. And her 30-second speech about herself was to the point – Rosanna described herself as a “fun, warm loving person” who values honesty and integrity.

Given that this was a beauty contest, there was all sorts of behind the scenes sniping at the result. Many felt it was rigged because Rosanna is the daughter of a famous, well-connected singer – even though he hasn’t had a hit in years.

“Does anyone else think this pageant was a set-up from the very beginning? Miss