'The political stuff pushed us over the edge': Meet five Americans who made Ireland their home
From the political to the personal, these five American immigrants to Ireland share their stories of settling on the Emerald Isle
Americans have long loved Ireland, which is no surprise considering about 35 million of them identify as Irish to some degree. Where Ireland traditionally sent her sons and daughters to the US in search of a better life, now the tables are turning.
Central Statistics Office figures reveal that 9,600 people moved to the Republic of Ireland from the US in 2025, up from 4,900 in 2024. One of the most visible examples of this surge is comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who moved here at the start of 2025. “It was very strange to feel so at home in a new country,” she told the Irish Examiner in February. “But I do.”
Side by side with O’Donnell are thousands more Americans who are seeking a new life. Some come solo, some come with pets, some come with family. Here, we speak to five new, and not-so-new, American arrivals to find out how life here is working out.
Heidi and her family arrived in Dublin from Maine in mid-April, a move that was facilitated by her husband’s employer opening an office here. The couple had honeymooned in Ireland, so when the offer came, they jumped at it.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time politically. We have two young kids, and every elementary school has mandatory active-shooter drills,” she says. “Having to explain that to your five-year-old and seven-year-old... it just doesn’t feel good.”
Coming for work made the move a little easier but the family also had to get their cat and dog to Dublin, an admin-heavy process. While the cat came with them on the plane, the dog had to wait an extra week to be reunited with the family.
Heidi has an unusual profession. “I’m a psychic medium and psychic development coach, and my sister and I have a podcast together. I believe it’s something that everybody has access to, and some people want to develop the skill,” she says.
She claims astrocartography, a branch of astrology that helps people find locations that resonate with them, also pointed her to Ireland.
“My three main lines intersect right in Dublin,” she says. “It feels like I’ve been here before, or like I’ve lived here before, even though I haven’t.”
She’s been discussing the inevitable culture shocks on her Instragam @multipassionate_mystic, and says: “Overall, the move has gone well. It’s been surprisingly easy, especially for my kids, which I like.”
Getting used to the smaller sizes of Irish washers and driers has proved a bit more challenging, and she’s amazed at how fast people walk. “I’ve always been told I have a long stride but I’m getting passed by these 80-year-old men,” she laughs.
Heidi and her family have committed to staying for at least two years. “We are already planning to stay afterwards. This is the first time in my life where I can actually see myself staying long-term. It feels like home.”
Waterford is now home for San Diego native Chelsea, who was living in the Californian city with her Irish husband, their daughter, and their two dogs.
“My husband had wanted to come home for a long time,” she admits.
“It was the political stuff that pushed us over the edge — we were just ready to get out.”
Once they decided to leave, things moved fast.
“Looking back at it now, it was a whirlwind of chaos. We made the decision to move in May last year, and then we were here by September.”
Chelsea’s husband is from Dublin, and the family initially moved there for a few months, before buying a home in the South-East. Irish house buying is radically different from the American experience, where it only takes about a month to six weeks to close a sale.
“Once you have your offer accepted, it’s very different and it felt very nerve-wracking because we were afraid at the last minute they would accept another bid,” she recalls.
Happily, that didn’t happen and the family is loving life in Waterford, with Chelsea sharing her progress on her Instagram @fromchaostocozy_.
Her daughter is settling well, which she’s delighted about. “It worked out really good, she’s in junior infants and she just loves being able to go out all the time and do all different activities. And she just started camogie a couple of weeks ago.”
Chelsea and her husband are loving the slower pace of life, and the reset the move has given them.
“I can step back and look at it and think, ‘This is just absolutely insane but without having to be in that constant fight or flight mode.’”
While they do intend to go back to the US to visit, for the foreseeable, Ireland is now their home.
Texan Lauren met her Irish husband in Houston in 2019.
“I wasn’t looking for anything,” she recalls. “Meeting him, I didn’t even think it’d be anything serious, you know?”
But fate had other ideas, and the couple moved to Claregalway, Co Galway, in 2021, as the country was in the thick of covid lockdowns. Not the most ideal start to a new life but Lauren is sanguine about it.
“It was very different but now, I feel like now, five years on, I have a grasp on it, so that’s good.”
Life has come at her fast and she now has two children under the age of three. Both were born here and those experiences were positive.
“I’m considered high risk here in Ireland and the treatment I’ve gotten from the doctors, I would say it was pretty much close to going private,” she says.
“I feel like I had a good team looking after me, and I don’t know if I would have experienced the same in the States because of insurance and things like that.”
Lauren’s mother really wanted her to have her babies back home.
“Mom was like, ‘You should have the kids in the States because if you don’t, they won’t be able to be the president. I was like, ‘I’m not really worried about them being the president,” she laughs.
Her husband’s family are nearby to lend a hand, another positive. “The support here has just been something I don’t see myself having the same experience of in the States,” she says.
With the good unfortunately comes the bad... and Lauren has experienced trolling and abuse on her social media accounts, including her Instagram @thegalwaygal, which she uses to document her experiences as an American in Ireland.
“Some people say Ireland for the Irish and things like that, and I found that hard as an American to navigate because I was like, ‘What is going on?’ Those nasty comments and racist stuff I don’t like, and I don’t want my kids to experience that. But then I’m like, ‘You know, Ireland can change.’”
Shaking off the negativity, Lauren plans to use her own platform to help other new arrivals. “It’s nice to help other Americans who are making the move, and it’s allowed me to meet people in Ireland. It’s nice to just meet other people in my shoes.”
New Yorker Hannah touched down in Dublin in 2016 with her husband, an Irish man. While the couple has since split, they remain friends and the marriage also enabled her to become an Irish citizen.
Moving here as part of a duo helped her to integrate, as did her job.
“I was going into an office full of other people, and chatting with them, and then they would invite me to do other things, and then I’d make friends,” she recalls.
That didn’t mean it was all plain sailing, and Irishisms flummoxed her to begin with. “I could understand everything but I definitely took things very literally.
Somebody said, ‘Come here to me,’ so I just walked over to them and they were very confused,” she laughs. “Or you know, ‘Your man.’ And I was like, ‘He’s not my man!’”
These days, Hannah wears a few hats. She works part-time for Vintage Tea Tours, and is well known for her Instagram account, @woman.in.wool, where she shares her passion for all things crafty along with witty commentary on cultural differences. Additionally, she is planning to launch a business selling her own bespoke knitwear.
Instagram has introduced her to new friends and work opportunities.
“Recently, I’ve been working with the European parliament office. They’ve released a lot of my stuff, especially with knitting focused on wool, sustainability, and slow fashion, and natural fibres,” she says.
Ireland is definitely home but she still misses an American Halloween, autumn in New York, and those long hot summer nights. Hannah visits family in New York a few times a year, and they come here also.
Time offers perspective: How does she feel about the US these days?
“I think the politics are horrific at the moment,” she says. “I think that the administration has done a really great job in dividing Americans and polarising the world, and I fear for the people it’s going to affect the most.”
With so many fellow Americans arriving now, what’s her best piece of advice?
“It’s a huge deal to put yourself out there and try to make friends. It’s hard to do but, you know, it’s necessary,” she says.
Comedian and actor Zac is practically part of the furniture these days, having arrived in Kilkenny from California 18 years ago.
Zac’s grandmother hailed from the Marble City and he increasingly found himself drawn across the Atlantic.
“I’d been here a few times, and then my mom died and I decided to go and find myself. I was in Ireland for a while, I was in France for a little while. But there’s always something about Ireland, especially Kilkenny, so I would go back there and, eventually, I just stayed.”
These days, Zac lives in Dublin’s Cabra with his wife, and he also has three daughters with a previous partner. Of his northside home, he says: “It’s working class and has a great sense of community. But also, it’s got this grit to it, just the right amount of grit.”
When he first arrived in Kilkenny, one of his biggest culture shocks was the nation’s fondness for fake tan in the depths of a freezing Irish winter.
Hiberno-English took some getting used to as well.
“I love all that,” he exclaims. “When the Irish language is turned into English, it turns out like Yoda.”
Observing those idiosyncratic colloquialisms is now a big part of his rapidly growing Instagram account @zacleecomedy.
“I do a few different types of video. One is where an American comes into a conversation and can’t keep up. And then I’m basically trying to do different accents from different counties. When I first moved, I was amazed at how you could throw a stone and hit a different accent.”
Zac is inherently funny, so it’s no surprise to find that he’s busy making a living out of being gas. He has a podcast, Clowns of the Round Table, and hosts a regular comedy night in The Hut pub in nearby Phibsborough.
Last year, he founded Dead Pheasant Productions, which he set up with a specific goal in mind: To create a truly great comedy show.
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