Home thoughts from abroad: Five emigrants speak about life away from Ireland
In the past five years, 123,800 more people have left Ireland than have moved here — on par with emigration figures from the 1980s.
This was, and continues to be, the first wave of mass emigration in the internet age — job interviews can be conducted via Skype, those abroad can easily contact friends and family at home, and air travel is the cheapest it’s ever been.
Leaving the country has never been easier.
But a longing for mammy’s cooking and the familiar pining for a pack of Taytos means our expats will always come back — even if it’s only for Christmas.
Aspiring actress Annette O’Shea moved to London two years ago to further her career in the arts.
After graduating from UCC with a degree in English with Drama and Theatre, the Kilkenny woman landed a coveted spot in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
“I came out of college at a time when a lot of people my age had, and were still, emigrating. The lack of opportunity, especially in the arts sector, was overwhelming due to funding cuts,” she said.
“I knew I needed to further my skills and I knew the best place to do that would be in London.”
Though she admittedly loves life as a Londoner, Annette says she does struggle to make ends meet sometimes.
“I was under no illusions as to how tough a profession I was entering into, but trying to survive on minimum wage is very difficult here,” she said.
“I do miss Ireland though. I miss my family.
“I find it hard to comprehend how helpful and supportive and generous they have been, they are amazing. So I do wish I could see then more often.
“I have five older brothers who have 10 children between them, plus one on the way. So missing out on the kids growing up is hard.”
But despite money woes and the inevitable homesickness, Annette says she is still very determined to succeed in England.
“I came to London for a reason — to achieve something I don’t think is possible for me in Ireland just yet.
“So long as I stay motivated in my career I am happy, and I am excited about my future in London,” she said.
A fitness fanatic, Fiona Reidy has spent the last three-and-a-half years teaching physical education in a private school in the United Arab Emirates.
After graduating with a degree in New Media and English, Fiona began looking for jobs in Ireland and abroad and when she was offered a position in Abu Dhabi she simply couldn’t turn it down.
“I applied for a teaching job in Abu Dhabi and then I was offered the job. I decided to take it and use it as a base to travel for a year. I never expected to still be away almost four years later,” she said.
Originally from Croagh, Co Limerick, Fiona teaches kids from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the UAE.
She also coaches an under-18 girls rugby team for the local club, Abu Dhabi Harlequins.
“I enjoy life in the UAE immensely. I am fortunate that I am doing something I really enjoy,” she said.
Fiona also touches upon homesickness as an “inevitable” part of living abroad.
“What matters is how you deal with it,” she explains. “For me I keep in touch with my parents and two brothers on a weekly basis. We use Viber to stay in touch, it’s nice to call each other and just chat.”
Since her older brother is also living abroad, in Perth, Australia, Fiona gave her mother a smartphone last Christmas to make it easier to stay in touch.
Her parents may not need it for long though, as Fiona plans to return to Ireland within the next two years.
“I miss my family and friends the most,” she admitted. “I have a great group of friends in Limerick and I really love catching up with them.”
Fiona will be back in Ireland for three weeks over Christmas.
“I’m looking forward to sitting by the fire with my family,” she said.
Originally from Rosscarbery in West Cork, Kevin Daly has always wanted to live abroad — now he works as an English language assistant at a university in Paris.
Having studied languages at the University of Limerick, a position teaching English was the right fit for Kevin, though he admits life in the city of love isn’t exactly what he thought it would be.
“Paris isn’t always the easiest place to live but I really do enjoy it,” he said. “You never run out of things to see and do. And Parisians aren’t as horrible as everyone thinks they are.”
While he doesn’t know how long he’ll stay in France, Kevin says he won’t be returning anytime soon.
“I don’t see myself settling permanently in Ireland,” he said. “I’ll be perfectly happy travelling and working abroad for a few years until I figure out what I want to do with my life.”
Though he’s become accustomed to living away from home, Kevin admits he does pine for his motherland.
“I still get homesick every now and again. It gets easier but I don’t think it ever goes away completely. Skype helps… but slow broadband speeds in rural Ireland definitely don’t.”
Apart from his family, Kevin says the thing he misses most about Ireland is the fresh air, lamenting the time he spends trapped underground in the “disgustingly stuffy” Paris metro.
He counts himself lucky, however, to have found a teaching position, especially since it means he has a good bit of time off during the holidays.
“I’ll be home for three weeks over Christmas and flights were fairly reasonable, especially since I booked well in advance and will only be bringing hand luggage,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my family, especially my niece and nephews… and to getting fat while sitting around the fire!”
Citing a love of travel as her reason for emigrating, Galway girl Caitriona Coyne has spent much of her time abroad in San Francisco jails — but it’s not a case of ‘girl gone wild’, she’s actually creating a feature-length documentary.
After graduating with a degree in journalism, Caitriona decided she wanted to experience life “somewhere new”.
So she got a one-year graduate visa and high-tailed it to the USA.
“I love San Francisco, it’s a very vibrant and progressive city, but it’s crazy expensive at the moment,” she said.
“There’s always something happening here, but the downside is that the homeless population can be quite overwhelming and it’s hard to see.”
For the past couple of months, Caitriona has been working on a documentary called The Corridor, which is due to be released in spring. It focuses on jails in San Francisco that have set up high-school programmes for their inmates.
While she enjoys this work, she admits being away from home is pretty difficult.
“Ireland has a lot of special qualities to it, which I feel people often don’t appreciate until they’ve been away for a while,” she said.
“The people are very caring and, of course, there’s that uniquely Irish sense of humour. Our media is quite transparent too, in comparison with the US, and I always miss the radio actually. I think Ireland has the best radio broadcasters in the English-speaking world.”
Caitriona has just moved home for Christmas and can’t wait to spend time with her family and friends, and her beloved city of Galway.
Cork woman Lynda O’Donoghue is a long way from home — 5,695 miles away, to be exact.
Having visited Shanghai previously, the most populated city in China, Lynda eventually moved there in 2013.
She now works for the editorial department of Time Out Shanghai.
“I left Ireland for a few reasons; I wanted to take the opportunity to travel to other countries, learn new languages, and meet people. But mostly I wanted to gain a new perspective on different cultures and apply this to my career,” she said.
“I think while living away I have gained a greater appreciation of Ireland and what it is to be Irish. Ireland has a rich culture of music, art and literature. That’s something I’m proud of and miss very much.”
Though a return to Irish shores may be on the cards eventually, Lynda says it will be at least a few more years.
“Although Ireland has several economic problems at the moment and is not the easiest place to get a job, I still believe there are opportunities for people. I think it’s all down to one’s attitude towards the situation,” she said.
“If you are passionate enough about anything it will work out in the end. My ambition is to develop my perspective and understanding of different cultures, and to return home with fresh innovative ideas.”
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