‘Irish is a wonderful language, it sounds so musical, the more I hear it, the more I like it’

Mark Davies moved to Santry in Dublin with his wife, opera singer Tara McSwiney, and their two sons, on August 1st, 2023.

They uprooted from Llantwit Major, near Cardiff in Wales, to move into his wife’s family home after she inherited it following her mother’s death a few years ago.

“Tara always wanted to go back to Dublin and I think it was just always a very attractive idea because Dublin’s such a great world city, there’s so many exciting things going on and the chance to move here to Dublin, we just couldn’t pass it by,” Davies explains.

So, they sold their house in Llantwit Major and he left his job on Cardiff Council’s community safety team and made the move.

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“I had to jump into the deep, deep unknown and took a punt and very luckily, there were these night-time economy adviser jobs that came up which is part of a new Government initiative and they looked fantastic, really interesting,” he says.

“They were right up my street because I’ve been in bands and I’m a songwriter so it sort of ticked the box in terms of public service, community safety, working with communities.

“But also the art side of it as well, trying to bring back culture and music to some struggling scenes in town and city centres, so it was very exciting and I was very lucky I got the position for Drogheda [Co Louth].”

This means that during his daily commute to Drogheda from Santry, he is travelling in the opposite direction to most commuter traffic.

“I can see the traffic jams of people coming into Dublin, and it’s a really nice drive for me going in the opposite direction, both going to work and back again so I can’t complain. I get to live in Dublin but don’t have the daily commute issues that others have,” Davies says.

It was scary if I’m honest, but it’s been a fantastic experience and I’m already feeling much more comfortable

Before moving to Ireland, he had only ever been here “fleetingly”, for gigs, holidays and the like. Davies says he has, however, always loved the company of Irish people, adding that the relationship between the Irish and Welsh differs to that of the English and Welsh, because “there’s always that little bit of rivalry between Wales and England”.

“But with Ireland, it’s different, it’s a much warmer relationship, everyone talks about the Celtic ties, but I think it’s just a similar attitude to life. The Irish always have good craic or a good party experience when they come over to Wales so it just creates links, everyone’s got a good impression,” Davies says.

“So actually, coming over to stay, everyone was so warm and welcoming and asking me questions about how I’m doing and keeping tabs with me, it’s been great. I’ve been made feel so welcome.”

Since moving to Santry, he says any slight fear of “the unknown,” has begun to subside, and making connections and feeling like he is part of a team with work has helped build his confidence, making him feel like he can make a positive difference.

“It was scary if I’m honest, but it’s been a fantastic experience and I’m already feeling much more comfortable and at home,” Davies says.

The move to Ireland is permanent, he insists, “unless I can talk Tara into retiring in Italy, maybe,” but his sons are already comfortable in Santry, with the eldest of the two having settled better in his preschool in Dublin than he had in Wales. Davies has two daughters from a previous relationship in Wales.

One thing Davies has noticed in Ireland, however, is the differences – and similarities – between the Irish and Welsh languages.

“I’m enjoying it, but I’ve got to start getting my pronunciations around the Irish language now because there’s so many more words – you probably don’t think about it, but you actually use it for organisations names or people’s names, which have that wonderful spelling in Irish that make people from outside at first go, ‘woah’.

“Siobhán’s a great example, isn’t it? And once you learn a few words, it comes to you quite easily, but I think it’s a wonderful language, it sounds so musical, the more I hear it, the more I like it.”

A big part of Davies’ job at the minute is involved with the organisation of the Lú Festival of Light in Drogheda, which runs until November 4th.

The festival brought thousands of people to the town in 2022 and is expected to bring further economic benefits this year.

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The festival provides “a cultural benefit for everyone,” acting as an incentive for people to come to the town and see its landmarks and monuments, showcasing Drogheda and the identities of its people, Davies says.

“We’re celebrating this, but also at the same time telling old myths and stories with cutting edge light shows or audiovisual shows, which from what I’ve seen is going to blow everyone’s minds again,” he says.

“It’s going to be a bit different this year with some extra surprises, and there’s going to be street performers, it’s going to be a fantastic festival, I think it’s right up there with any festival you can get in Europe.”

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