Ciara Doherty: 'Ireland AM is like a sleep-in compared to Newstalk'
She's the new face of Ireland AM - but Ciara Doherty has revealed she's not letting the early mornings get to her.
The presenter might be on air from 7am each day, but she said her new gig gives her a chance to sleep in.
"Before I started with TV3 I worked with Newstalk on the Breakfast Show and I actually had to get up even earlier for that," Ciara told the Diary.
"So with Ireland AM I get a bit of a lie in - not much though.
"You have to be pretty disciplined when you're working at that hour of the morning. I've been doing it for a while so I've gotten pretty good at it and I always try to go to bed early, last week I was asleep by nine," she added.
The Donegal native admitted that while she was a bag of nerves before her first appearance, now she's at home in her role.
"It was worse before I actually got out there in front of the camera," Ciara said.
"I had been shadowing the team for the last few weeks to learn the ropes and it definitely made me a bit nervous.
"It's a very long show and because it's live, there's a lot of pressure.
"But once I got out there it was fine. Everyone is so nice on the show so it has been easy to settle into it."
Impressive
Having worked on radio for years before making the move to television when she joined TV3's Midweek back in 2010, Ciara boasts an impressive broadcasting CV - and that's without mention of her being a qualified barrister.
"I decided to go back to study a few years ago and I had my graduation last week so along with Ireland AM it was a busy week for sure," Ciara explained.
The legal eagle has replaced presenter Anna Daly on the show as it was recently revealed by TV3 that she will front TV3's new weekend breakfast slot.
Anna will host Saturday AM with comic Simon Delaney and Sunday AM with radio presenter Ivan Yates from August 29.
She left Ireland AM this month to prepare for the new slot and now the blonde is enjoying spending her summer with her young sons, James (3) and Euan (2).
"Spending some quality time with my family is top of my agenda," she said.
"I left Ireland AM on July 2 and we go live on the 29.
"I'll be doing a four-day week, Thursday to Sunday, so it gives me a better work and home life."