From work experience at the Antrim Guardian to the finals of Miss Ireland!

A RANDALSTOWN woman is in the running for Miss Ireland, representing County Antrim - and has fondly recalled her time on work experience in the Antrim Guardian!

Danielle Timperley (24) is a freelance Assistant Director in Film and Television and her credits include Paramount Pictures ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, Universal Pictures ‘How to Train your Dragon’ and A24’s ‘The Death of Robin Hood’.

The Miss Ireland final stage will be set on 14th June 2025 in the Knightsbrook Hotel and Resort in Trim, Co. Meath.

Danielle will be using her platform to speak about the White Ribbon movement to end violence against women and girls.

“I love that a huge part of Miss Ireland and Miss World is the ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ initiative that encourages women to make a difference in their home countries.” she said.

“‘Beauty with a Purpose’ is my campaign to end violence against women and girls. I’ve been a trustee and volunteer of White Ribbon NI since its launch in 2021 but my dedication to this subject started long before that.

“I advocated for women and children who were affected by domestic abuse on the BBC Children in Need Youth Panel from 2015 to 2019.

“I went on to join the BBC Children in Need Northern Ireland Advisory Committee in 2020 until my time came to an end last year in 2024.

“I loved assessing grant applications (as challenging as it was) and ensuring smaller charities in rural areas who were providing crucial services were getting the funding and resources they required to make their community a better place.

“As a trustee and volunteer of White Ribbon NI, I love travelling around the country and visiting organisations, sports teams and schools that are committed to helping us achieve our mission.

“We deliver our Listen, Learn, Lead workshops to young people from the age of 14 and have challenging conversations with them about the attitudes and beliefs that lead to violence against women and girls.

“We talk about gender stereotypes that young people are made to believe through social media and public figures and how they can at times be really harmful. We discuss bystander intervention and what we can do if we see harmful behaviour towards women around us.”

And Danielle is hoping to inspire the next generation of young woman, adding: “I recently founded the White Ribbon NI Junior Board. I feel so passionate about guiding the next generation of young leaders. I started on a youth board at the age of 14 and know the benefits it can have.

“Our youngest member is 13 years old, and I really enjoy holding our meetings every month in the office and seeing their dedication, initiative, and drive.

“We’re committed to having young voices feed into our organisation and involving young people in changing harmful attitudes and encourage respectful behaviours towards women. I lead the group through training sessions and discussions, they also get the chance to gain employability skills and hold their own events.

“I’m incredibly passionate about my work with White Ribbon NI and can’t wait to share it with the nation on the Miss Ireland stage. The overall winner of the Miss Ireland title will represent Ireland on the Miss World stage.”

Thanking her sponsor, Danielle said: “I’m supported on my journey by ‘Pure Catering NI’, which is a family run business working predominantly in the Film and Television industry here in Ireland, but they also cater for corporate events, weddings and more.

“I know the guys personally from working with them on multiple productions and they are the kindest people with incredible food. I’m so grateful that they chose to support me.”

And Danielle was full of praise for the Antrim Guardian, where she discovered her love of working in the creative industries.

She said: “Antrim Guardian has always been very supportive of me in the past. You have reported on my win as All-Ireland Youth Volunteer of the Year 2018 at the Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards and my invite to the Royal Wedding. I also did work experience with you when I was in school!”