Celebrity Diary with Ciara Doherty: The longer I'm on Ireland AM, the more at home I feel
Ciara Doherty from Ireland AM
Ciara Doherty ( left) with Sinead Desmond pictured at the TV3 studios
Ciara Doherty pictured at the TV3 Sony HD Studio with Sinead Desmond,Mark Cagney and Alan Hughes
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I've been on air with the Ireland AM crew for a week now and I'm definitely settling in.
To say I was nervous at the start would be an understatement, but the longer I am on air the more at home I feel.
I'm quite a nosey person, so being a reporter suits me down to the ground.
Getting to talk to people and learn their stories is something that's always been attractive to me - it's one of the reasons I decided to get into this business.
Welcoming
I know it's a cliche, but all the Ireland AM presenters - Sinead Desmond, Mark Cagney and Alan Hughes - have been really welcoming since I've joined the show.
They have given me so much advice and great tips.
I think I would have been a lot more nervous if I was working with any other team.
Like any job, it can be daunting starting out on a show - especially a live show with three hours of air time to fill. They've all been together on Ireland AM for a long time so of course they're very close, but everyone has been very helpful towards me. Out of all the things I've been told, probably the best advice is to be yourself on screen and to enjoy it.
It's really important to be genuine because viewers will see through you if you're not.
I have no time for people with airs and graces, so I try to be just as down to earth on screen as I am in reality.
We're on air from 7am to 10am from Monday to Friday, so that means getting up at 5am when I have to be in the studio.
Thankfully, I'm a reporter so it means I don't have to be in so early every day.
Sometimes I don't have to start until 9am, so it's just like any normal working day.
Getting the odd sleep-in has definitely helped me adjust to the early mornings.
The fact that I don't have to be in bed every night before 9pm means I get to enjoy my evenings as well. Before I started on Midweek with TV3 a few years ago, I worked on Newstalk's Breakfast Show so that meant an even earlier start than I have now.
It's surprisingly easy getting up so early because it's a beautiful time of the day.
Plus, I'm very lucky that I enjoy my job so much - so that also helps.
I'm a qualified barrister but broadcasting is my passion
A couple of years ago I went back to college part-time to study to become a barrister, and last week I had my graduation where I was called to the Bar.
I studied Law in UCD when I was younger and although I enjoyed it, I knew I wanted to get into media - so much you work on in journalism is impacted by law, so I thought studying it would be very useful for me.
However, I always had the thought in the back of my mind that I wanted to go back to college at some stage and qualify as a solicitor or barrister.
So when the opportunity came up to study part-time I was delighted, because it meant I was able to continue working while I hit the books.
The course was very practical and one of the things we had to do was pretend as though were speaking in court, and having a background as a reporter made it much easier for me.
I love working in broadcasting and always have, so I don't have any intentions of practicing as a barrister for now but down the line I can see myself doing it.
My heart will always belong to Donegal
I'm from Letterkenny in Donegal and although I haven't lived there since I went to college when I was 17, to me it will always be home.
In the last few years, because I had lectures in uinversity at the weekend, I haven't been able to get home as much as I would have liked to, but hopefully now that I'm all finished up I'll get more of a chance to get back.
My friends from school are still my best friends, and many of them have moved back to Donegal in recent years because they've gotten married and started families.
Also, my family are all there so I make an effort to get back there as often as I can.
Last weekend, I was home for my sister Laura's wedding - it was very special.
She's the first girl in our house and the first girl out of our cousins to get married so it was a lovely occasion.
I was a bridesmaid and while there was a bit of running around in the run up to the day, it was a beautiful wedding.