Mullingar teen wins Taylor Swift cardi!

The Mullingar teenager who won one of two Taylor Swift cardigans by designer Gabrielle Malone last week also won tickets to the superstar’s concert the last time she was in Ireland.

Mia McCormack told the Westmeath Examiner she has been a Swift fan “for as long as I can remember, since I was five, I think”. Now 17, and having just completed her Leaving Cert at Loreto College, Mullingar, Mia was over the moon when she heard she had won the cardigan.

The garment is the result of a collaboration between the Dublin designer Gabrielle Malone and Fáilte Ireland, and it represents some of the locations in Ireland that Swift has visited.

Only two of the cardigans exist. One was put in the singer’s dressing room ahead of her first show in Dublin last Friday, and Mia has the other one.

Mia told the Westmeath Examiner about it: “I saw Taylor in 2018 with my mam (Emma) and my sister (Maisie). I won tickets for that and we had to buy my sister a ticket, but it was so easy to get a ticket for her then.”

Asked what she would win next, Mia said it might be a chance to meet the star!

“I love songs from her first album, and my favourite is Mary’s Song, one of her country songs, I just love it.”

Mia said that her mother entered the competition on the Ian Dempsey show on Today fm, “because she knew I’d really want it [the cardigan], and that’s how I won.

“She surprised me after she won it, and I went to Dublin and I got it that day, at the studios. It’s just so gorgeous, I love it so much.”

Mia went to the Taylor Swift concert on Sunday night with friends who were visiting from the UK.

They enjoyed the build-up over the weekend, including their trip to the merch shop at the 3 Arena, where they were out after queueing for just 20 minutes, Mia said.