They started as little acts of bravery – many Abroad stories we’ve published in November and will in the months to come. There were many messages from Irish people living abroad, with submissions or interview proposals sent in that coy and bashful Irish way: “I thought my story might make something”; “I wrote this story in case you might be interested”. What emerged on speaking to Irish people around the world were your stories of less-than-ordinary lives: people searching for a different sort of existence than at home, stumbling upon a place they love, finding their passion, discovering belonging elsewhere.
Accents
Something that unified each of our phone calls (at various ends of the day) was the unmistakable accent: the rise and fall of tones so distinct you can narrow a person down to their county, and possibly the parish if you know it well enough. Sometimes an Irish voice on the other end of the line rearranges the vocal cords into their old familiar patterns. Laura Kennedy writes about accents in her latest column: “Here, the vocal neutrality that my mother taught me isn’t neutral at all – it’s just another foreign accent from a country far away, and it frequently has people asking me to repeat myself,” she writes.
So many of the stories you generously shared with us have been uplifting. You will find details below on how to get in touch. There was Boyle native Tom Gallagher, a winemaker in Catalonia, who painstakingly restored an old vineyard, bringing the old vines back to life. He describes the work at its heart as really “very basic farming”. Despite a lot of “snobbishness” about wine, he says it has many similarities to that of his farmer grandfather milking cows in Co Roscommon.
Searching for the perfect pint in his quest to visit all the Irish pubs outside Ireland was Colm Dalton: “In Namche Bazaar in Nepal, in the foothills of the Himalayas, there’s a tiny Irish pub up the mountains where climbers go for a pint after,” he says. “That’s probably the dream. I’m sure I will go there,” he says.
Irish abroad: We want to hear your stories of life outside Ireland
Each emigrant story we’ve published started as a coy and bashful act of bravery
I miss Ireland’s wildness and divilment, but after 20 years away, I know it’s not for me
Irish pubs around the world: ‘The most random was a cottage inside a Jakarta shopping centre’
There was Doireann Ní Shiochrú reflecting on a year in Vancouver, which has brought an Ironman and career progression but, most importantly, a different type of inner peace: “Together, these new beginnings taught me that growth isn’t always about striving, it’s often about softening, allowing, and trusting and having faith.” We also heard from those living abroad for decades, such as Ray Farrell in Sydney on his bush fire experience: “In summer, my house sits there shimmering in the heat, and you know that a single spark could ignite a catastrophe.”
There were also returnees to Ireland. Leanne Brady wrote about her decision to leave Portugal, made as she surfed its shores. “I’ve wanted to leave Lisbon for a while now but it wasn’t always that way.” And on the 10th anniversary of the Bataclan attacks in Paris, Hugo Harvey wrote this moving piece about being a teenager in the city on that night: “We had to make our way home, but the attacks stood between us and where we needed to be.”
Moving home
A piece which lit up the comments on our Abroad social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) was Jarlath Regan on moving home from London after 10 years. “I worked my tail off so I could bring my son home and allow him to experience Irish secondary school.” Such thoughts of returning or moments of nostalgia may rise unexpectedly for some in the coming month, maybe sparked by the opening bars of Fairytale of New York on the radio in a local 7-Eleven or an old schoolfriend’s bleary-eyed kids on social media after The Late Late Toy Show (It’s on December 5th). It’s a feeling that goes dormant until it is awoken, the perpetual push and pull of life abroad.
Catch-up: Ireland in November
There’s only one Tory Parrott
I was living in Australia in a pre-smartphone era when Saipan happened and didn’t learn how Roy Keane’s public row had gripped a nation until I came home. You’ve probably heard about Troy Parrott, but if not, brush up for your next call home. In one of the most dramatic moments in Irish soccer history, the Portland Row native kept Ireland’s World Cup hopes alive. He scored a goal in stoppage time against Hungary to complete a hat-trick, less than four days after scoring twice against Portugal. Ireland is in the playoffs against the Czechs in March. David Gorman explains.
Talk to Kieran
Talk to Joe is no more. With the retirement of Joe Duffy from RTÉ Radio 1, the station had its biggest shake-up in decades. Claire Byrne has also left for Newstalk. Mick Heaney had a listen on the first day as Kieran Cuddihy took over Liveline: “He may be host of a big brand, but callers still drive the show.”
Bye Bye Phibsboro, Hello DC
One of Ireland’s latest high-profile emigrants is Paschal Donohoe. The minister for finance resigned from the Government to take up a role as managing director and chief knowledge officer at the World Bank. “We can see him now, looking across the shimmering skyline from his swanky penthouse corner office just a stone’s throw from the White House, wistfully thinking about the Irish weather and Fine Gael and Phibsboro and the Dáil and ...” writes Miriam Lord.
DJ Carey Jailed
The former Kilkenny hurler will spend 5½ years in jail for a series of frauds he conducted over at least 10 years. By claiming to have terminal cancer, he extracted varying sums of money from friends and acquaintances – but also from hurling fans. “Another milestone in ignominy,” writes Colm Keena. Listen to a podcast here.
Rise in road deaths
One of the worst car crashes in recent years took place this month as five young friends died in a road crash in Co Louth. The number of road deaths in the State outstrips those in many other EU countries. “They flanked the Main Street of the village of Drumconrath, Co Meath; two stationary and protective rows of green and yellow tractors, some 40 of them forming a guard of honour,” writes Rosita Boland from the funeral of Alan McCluskey (23). Separately, two men were killed and several people were hospitalised this week in a three-vehicle crash involving a bus, a truck and a car in Co Meath.
How to get in touch
Contact us at abroad@irishtimes.com or through our form with your idea to write a piece or to be interviewed. Read our submission guidelines here. Or, if you want to be involved in our questions for Irish abroad video project, get in touch.
