Orna Ballout / Journalist

Orna Ballout is originally from Surrey, England. However, she relocated to Meath in 2002 with her mother, and is now well-settled and enjoying Irish life.

Orna is a journalist who enjoys writing various subject matters, including entertainment, travel, fashion and current affairs.

Orna has spent the past year studying for her MA Journalism in Independent Colleges, Dublin. Prior to this, she studied Journalism and Visual Media in Griffith College, Dublin.

In 2008, Orna took a year out of her studies to travel on a once in a lifetime trip to Thailand and Australia. She spent a month in Thailand before venturing off to Sydney, where she stayed for most of the duration of her trip.

Whilst in Australia, Orna worked in Thredbo ski resort as a ticket sales assistant. She also worked in administration for Omni-Quant, a building information and tendering company, and a short stint in a boutique in Paddington's prestigious William Street.

Orna had the amazing opportunity to road trip around Australia in a campervan. She managed to travel from Sydney, along the East-Coast, up to Noosa Heads. Unfortunately her journey was cut short here, as flooding up North meant she couldn't go any further.

Orna comes from a loving family, consisting of her two brothers, Karl and Damien. Her mother and best friend, Ann, and her father Ali. Orna follows in her father's footsteps in the journalistic realm, as he is a well-respected journalist based in Kuwait, who has been in the field for over 30 years.

In her spare time, Orna enjoys a range of activities. These include, reading, swimming, running, dancing and of course, shopping! Orna also spends a lot of her time looking after her pomeranian dog Basil, who she loves to train and groom.