Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Maura’s kiss & sell19
Love Island celebrity mobbed by hundreds of fans at meet-&-greet
MAURAMANIA was in full flow yesterday which also left Santa – who flew in on his chopper – for dust.
Hundreds of diehard fans queued from early moning to see the Love Island star at a meet-and-greet event at Ann Summers in Blachardstown Shopping Centre, Dublin.
A poster with the caption Be More Maura gazed out from the window as her supporters waited until doors opened at 1pm.
When the devotees caught a glimpse of the reality star, excitement ensued.
And after one hour and plenty of selfies later, their time was up.
But there were still around 100, mainly teenage girls, still waiting to see
Maura.
As the crowd clamoured around the window, the reality TV star came out to the visitors.
Some girls hyper-ventilated while others cried, lunged and squealed.
One fan shouted: “We love you Maura – oh my God – Jesus, Maura.”
The 28-year-old, encircled by bouncers, went into the crowd so as many fans as possible could snatch a selfie.
However, there was no chance of a chat with the Queen of Straight-talking as her entourage announced she had no time to talk.
Questions could be emailed to her agent and and they would be answered by Monday.
Maura, who is dating Love Islander Curtis Pritchard, was in Longford last night before going back to London for Dancing On Ice rehearsals.
She said: “I’m back in Longford for one night only. I have to fly back to London tomorrow as I’m so busy.”
Maura – who is still with her Love Island partner, pro dancer Curtis Pritchard – recently told how she cried after being chased by paparazzi.
So how did she feel after today’s welcome?
Maura said: “Ah no, they’re not going to harm me – they’re all so sweet. They’re all so lovely. And they waited so long.” And 20 minutes later, as Maura jumped into selfies with shop assistants, the mob hadn’t shrunk.
And in true Beatlemania style – and unlike poor Santa – she had to leave by the back door.