Alanna O'Neill's passion for all things marine can be traced back to one moment in her life: the first time she saw a dolphin.

"I was about seven, we went to the Aran Islands and I saw a dolphin. That was it. At first it was animals, mammals, then I knew I had to go to sea," she says.

Alanna was working part-time in a newsagent during secondary school and got a phone call from her mother, who worked in the Salthill tourist office at the time.

"She said, 'there's an aquarium being built next door! Get your CV in!' so I had the CV in before it was even built and I was corresponding with the manager until it was. I worked there for my Easter holidays during fourth year and all through school after that. I don't think my school principal [at Coláiste Iognáid] was too happy!"

After she finished school, Alanna spent three months in the Outer Hebrides off the Scottish coast doing research with a whale and dolphin trust.

"I had the time of my life in Scotland, and I went back to the aquarium full time for another year after that. Then I did a course in Rosmuc with BIM, learning boat handling and aquaculture. I loved the water side of it, being out in the boat."

After the course Alanna spent three years working on the Connemara Lady in Killary Fjord, where she got to see dolphins every day.

"You would get maybe 12 or 15 of them around the bow of the boat and after three years the crew used to laugh at me because I still wasn't sick of seeing dolphins."

After finishing in Killary, Alanna's dream was to study seamanship at the National Marine College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork. However, the college only runs courses when there is demand, and she spent the next two years corresponding with the course co-ordinator, Vivion Gough, pleading for a course to be put on. During this time she travelled Spain and worked in an Irish pub in Berlin. Her wish was granted, when in October of last year the college finally agreed to run a course, with 15 students.

The course is tough work, with a lot of time spent at sea learning practical skills over the four-year duration. So far, Alanna has spent a month in college learning basic skills such as first aid, fire fighting and sea survival, and six months at sea where she has had the time of her life.

"We were given the shipping company (Carisbrooke Shipping) we'd be going with, and told ring them when we were ready to go to sea! You fly to meet the ship, you're shown your cabin, and you're told when you'll be on duty. And that's it!"

Alanna and Aidan a classmate from Cobh, joined the ship in Houston, Texas, and have spent the last six months traveling the Caribbean, seeing ports in countries such as Trinidad, Venezuela, Aruba, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, the Dominican Republic and the USA.