Cavan Rose rises to top five in bookies' favourites following stage invasion

The Cavan Rose has admitted that she was 'close to tears' after her live TV interview last night was interrupted by a fathers' rights protestor.

Ballinagh Lisa Reilly (28) has jumped into the bookies' top five favourites after her handling of the frightening incident on live TV. She is now one of the main contenders for the 2016 Rose of Tralee sash.

Hear what she had to say here about the ordeal.

“I was so close to bursting out in tears. When it cut to the break, I was welling up and Daithí gave me a bit of a squeeze and told me to keep going and all the roses and escorts stood up for a standing ovation. “That gave me a push and everyone was supporting me. It was the first time in eight years that a Cavan Rose had got here so I wasn’t going to let people down. I tried my best but when I got off stage, that’s when I broke down - when the cameras weren’t there.”
Primary school teacher Lisa was just getting into her stride in her interview with Daithí ” Sé when they were interrupted by a man dressed as a priest who barged onto the stage.
The protester was Matt O’Connor (49), the founder of Fathers4Justice, a group that campaigns for equal access and custody rights for fathers to their children.
O’Connor held up a sign and shouted: “To all the fathers in this country who are denied access to their children, please join me and the broken families of Ireland.”
RTÉ cutaway quickly to Lisa’s parents in the audience before going to a quick ad break, while security dealt with the situation. O’Connor was tackled to the ground by four security men and hauled off-stage. It’s understood he was removed from the venue by gardaí.

Lisa doesn't blame festival organisers. See tomorrow' Celt for more about how Lisa reacted afterwards and what she would say to O'Connor if faced with him following the incident.

Rose of Tralee statement
The Rose of Tralee press office issued a statement shortly after midnight on Monday confirming that O’Connor had bought a ticket for the event and then moved seats during a break to get closer to the stage.
The spokesman said: “He was dealt with immediately. We’re regarding this as a minor incident. In light of what happened, we will put in more security tonight [Tuesday].”
Lorraine O’Neill of the Cavan Rose Centre told the Celt: “We are just thankful if wasn’t a more serious protester getting up on the stage. We are delighted with how Lisa performed. She composed herself so well and it shows the great lassie and true Rose she is.”

Huge honour
Speaking to the Celt on Sunday morning, after she had sailed through the semi-finals and been chosen for a slot on the live TV finals, Lisa said: “It’s a huge honour for both me and my family. I had no expectations coming down here only to be myself and to represent Cavan in a favourable light. It is now a fantastic honour to be chosen to also represent Ulster alongside my beautiful friend Pamela Allen, the Monaghan Rose. I am so excited to have her by my side for this experience.”
Following the interruption during Monday’s live show, Lisa showed great calm and composure in completing her interview. She rounded off with a performance of sign language to the Toy Story song 'You’ve Got a Friend in Me’ getting Daithí and the audience involved.
She had learned the skill while teaching special needs students in Edinburgh where she completed her teacher training.
Lisa has no favourite in mind for the Rose of the Tralee title saying they are all “fantastic”, adding it had been a great “honour” to represent Cavan.

The winner will be crowned live on RTE television later tonight.