June Gonzalez Iriarte never imagined she would end up with the career she has and she certainly never imagined she would be doing it all around Ireland, having grown up originally near Bilbao in Spain.
Growing up, Iriarte was especially interested in sports, having started karate at age four and then moving into taekwondo.
“My parents were really encouraging me to get into a sport. I found myself wanting a bit more at some point and my parents found a gym where I could do taekwondo and I fell in love with the sport. I trained every day after school and was Spain champion when I was 13 in the under-14s category,” she says.
She took “a very different path” when it came time to go to university, completing a degree in advertising, followed by a second degree in audiovisual and show production.
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“The second degree is when I discovered my love for theatre and that’s what brought me to Ireland,” she says.
Iriarte did an Erasmus exchange in Cork in 2017 and interned at Dance Cork Firkin Crane. She loved her experience there so much that as soon as she arrived home in Spain, she realised she wanted to go back to Ireland.
After finishing her production degree, she started working for small independent theatre companies in Bilbao, Spain, as assistant stage manager and crew. This is where she discovered her passion for lighting and decided to pursue it professionally.
“But, I knew it would be too difficult to step into the industry in Spain. So, after six months at home, I moved back to Ireland. Since then, I’ve been back in and out of opera houses.”
Now, she works as a freelance chief electrician, lighting technician and programmer, with an interest in dance, theatre and opera.
She has worked on many different productions from rock’n’roll to theatrical musicals to pantomime.
Opera and dance are her primary passions and working in opera is something that brings her “a particular pride” because her grandmother was a fan.
“Being able to tell my grandmother I work in opera was a proud moment for me,” she says.
Since 2019, she’s been part of the Wexford Festival Opera as electrician and moving to deputy chief electrician in 2022 and 2023.
Family have often flown from Spain to see her shows and Iriarte’s dad “just can’t believe this is the job I work in”.
“I never imagined I’d be in this career or living in this country,” she says.
Iriarte’s work has taken her all over Ireland with companies such as Irish National Opera, Catherine Young Dance Company, Lewis Major’s company on his Irish tour, Cork Midsummer Festival and Blackwater Opera Festival, among others.
“It’s very physical and challenging work, which I love. I don’t like to spend eight hours in front of a computer. But, for me, it’s also about the people you work with. If you have fun, it makes your job more enjoyable and Irish people are great to work with and very fun.
“It’s also easier to work here because it’s a smaller country with a lot of arts and culture – it’s easier to get involved.
“I find it more difficult in Spain as a freelancer and you need to be part of a big company there to make it. Whereas in Ireland, I can freelance and it gives me the freedom to work on what I want and manage my own time.”
It was challenging at first to grow a real network and make lasting friendships, Iriarte says, primarily due to the language barrier, but also because of her working schedule.
“My work is mostly with Irish people which helped me a lot with my English but it was difficult at first to make friends because breaking that circle with people who’ve grown up their entire lives in Ireland is challenging when you’re the new person.”
I think you always miss home but when I go to Spain now I find myself missing Ireland
“Irish people are very friendly and open but I work weekends and evenings in my industry and that’s when most people socialise. But, thankfully, there’s a big Spanish community in Cork and all around Ireland so I started finding friends that way.”
One friend introduced her to another and quickly, she found she had grown a large friend group and met her Irish boyfriend, who is from West Cork and whom she now lives with in the city centre.
A cultural difference Iriarte noticed in her professional life was that “Irish people are not used to Spanish people’s way of being very direct in emails”.
“Sometimes Irish people interpret it as rude but you’re just trying to translate. It’s been funny to adapt to that – Irish people are much more casual and dancing around what they mean in work. But, I’m used to it now,” she laughs, adding that she has managed to “really grow” her career.
“My work has taken me all around Ireland now and soon, I’ll have my first European tour.” This year, Iriarte will be working on Irish National Opera’s production of Der Rosenkavalier, the European Eden Tour and Wexford Festival Opera.
“I think you always miss home but when I go to Spain now I find myself missing Ireland. When I’m not working, I miss it and this is where my work is for the foreseeable future. I think I’ll remain here for a long time.”
We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish
