Sprung from Heathfield, Ellie went to London where she worked as a photographer’s assistant, rode a small motorbike, and daydreamed of exploring Africa. But when she packed it in and got her self on a plane, it was to an Israeli kibbutz near what struck her on a map as a lush river winding through the promised land. The ‘river’ was actually the Lebanese-Israeli border along that mountainous region she had neglected to take proper note of, the Golan Heights. Sobered, but not deterred, Ellie stayed on in this front line war zone, for a year and a bit, taking a position in the bandage factory. The segues are not important, but suffice it to say that in short order Ellie found herself on the Indian subcontinent for another year, on a prawn trawler off the northern coast of Australia for another year, and analyzing core samples in the gold fields of Western Australia for another year. Somewhere in the outback there was a moment of inspiration and Ellie’s career as a videographer took shape. Back in Ireland, Ellie made a name for herself filming horse shows, steeplechase races, and equestrienne events for another couple of years.

But Ireland kept calling back. Eventually, Ellie took a position with a distribution company in Dublin that represented Irish Cinema abroad. Later she headed south when invited by American singer/songwriter Tori Amos to look after her estate in West Cork. Ellie jumped at the chance for some peace and quiet and was happily ensconced in ‘perhaps the most beautiful house in Ireland’ on a spectacular river surrounded by fields and woodlands. She would head out for provisions weekly in a small boat and continues to describe that period as life changing. The local pub, the Corner House, wasn’t much of a crossroads between here and anywhere else, but the stakes poker culture was top flight and Ellie displaced plenty of local competition on her quest to win the annual tournaments and get herself called Ballinspittle Poker champion.