On Saturday evening five women - the cream of the second-generation Irish in Britain - and their mothers pulled on the diamonds, tonged their hair and practised their smiles at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in London to take part in what some people believe could become a rival to the Rose of Tralee festival.
After a somewhat acrimonious split over entrance fees with the organisers of the Rose of Tralee - who wanted committees sponsoring a Rose to pay £1,500 to take part - the Irish Rose centres in Britain decided not to send their elected Roses to Tralee in protest at the charge. So they were left with Irish Roses, but no competition for them to take part in.
The Roses were saved at the last minute by the Irish Post, a newspaper for the Irish in Britain, when it decided to establish its own event, The Irish Rose 2000.
We all might have thought the beauty-cum-talent contest had disappeared with Miss World, but mission statements from women in ballgowns are fashionable again. The Leeds Irish Rose, Michelle O'Donoghue (23), an assistant team leader, was the early favourite. She wanted to follow the "hippie trail" and read a poem written by her grandfather.
When the Midlands Irish Rose, Marie Cleary (25), walked towards the stage, the clapping and cheering from her supporters, including Marie's worried-looking mother, Ann, made it clear they thought she would win without too much trouble. But first the South Wales Irish Rose, Orla McLoughlin (25), whose father is the former Lions rugby player, Gerry McLoughlin, tried to upset the odds. Despite singing an alternative version of Molly Malone, however, Orla couldn't displace the Midlands Rose.
Announcing the winner, the woman with that "indefinable spark", the chief executive of Smurfit Media UK, Ms Norah Casey, presented the award to Marie Cleary. Struggling to hold back the tears, Marie admitted that she was "totally overwhelmed".
She will now fulfil a year of engagements as an ambassador for Irish women in Britain. ail and promote the Irish in Britain abroad before handing her title over to the next Irish Rose in 2001. As one of her supporters said: "She didn't need to go to Tralee. She's won it here and this competition could be bigger and better."