Children these days want to grow up to become influencers. So do adults.
Survey after survey tells us that many young people all over the planet crave nothing more than to down tools, strap on a backpack and stride off into the horizon, with phones, selfie-sticks and GoPros to document their journey.
It’s a nice idea. But what’s the reality like? We spoke to five of Ireland’s best-known travel influencers and content creators about their working lives and what the grind really involves.
Between them, Cassie Stokes, Éadaoin Fitzmaurice, Brinsley McNamara, Niamh Flynn and Stephanie Barry Woods have more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram, as well as two book deals and two travel companies – but what are the highs and lows of their chosen careers?
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‘I love my job, but the loneliness is hard’
Éadaoin Fitzmaurice
Éadaoin Fitzmaurice has 344,000 followers on Instagram and 169,000 on TikTok. Her follower count has grown through steely dedication and attention to detail. The Arklow-born influencer is a graduate of communications in DCU: she originally wanted to get into television presenting, but after a stint working for Lovin Dublin as a social media co-ordinator, she realised content creation ticked a lot of the same boxes. After working for Web Summit, in 2022, when she had built up her Instagram page to 30,000 followers, she took the plunge into full-time content creation.
“I moved in with my parents, I put it all on the line, and I worked my ass off. By October, I had 100,000 followers. And I grew by 100,000 the following year.”
Fitzmaurice’s interests range from travel to food to the Irish language. On her Instagram you’ll find colourfully showcased, smartly-curated lists of great places to visit in Ireland. The emphasis is on fun and quirkiness, with pull-in questions like “Is this Dublin’s best sandwich?” or a series trying out saunas in every county in Ireland.
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Behind the scenes, the 31-year-old works hard. A typical day could include a radio segment for Newstalk, collaborating with a brand for a social media video, then driving around the country to interesting locations, and filming herself. “Monday is content day, so I can spend the rest of the week editing,” she says. “It’s funny shooting by yourself and seeing people look at you. But I’ve been doing this so long you get used to it.”
A lot of content creators are friends. We’re support systems to one another
— Éadaoin Fitzmaurice
What catches fire on Instagram or TikTok one day may not draw eyeballs the next: Fitzmaurice devotes considerable graft to working out the algorithmic changes that affect her reach. “There’s a real science,” she says. “You want your page to have longevity, so you constantly have to change. When I started three years ago, my list content was doing incredibly well. Now you have to have different hooks to lead people into the lists. It takes time and commitment, and that commitment can never falter.”
The self-employed lifestyle can be isolating. “Last summer I was working on a project that involved driving around the country on my own for weeks on end. It was so heavy on your psyche because you’re on your own all the time. That loneliness is hard. A lot of content creators are friends. We’re support systems to one another.”
Fitzmaurice is managed by the Collaborations Agency. Many successful influencers have agencies to represent them, she says, which “does set something of an industry standard around rates, but of course they take a cut”.
Financially, there’s no ceiling on what’s possible to earn as an influencer. “The average content creator is probably on a fairly normal salary, anything between €30,000 and €60,000, but the really big creators with millions of followers are 100 per cent on a six-figure salary,” she says. “If you work really hard, the doors are open, which is one of the great things about this industry. And it’s predominantly female-led. It’s amazing to see these women on six-figure salaries or setting up their own brands or writing their own books.”
In an industry that is sometimes rife with suspicion around what is #gifted and what is not, Fitzmaurice says transparency is key.
“If something is an ad, it has to be labelled in Ireland. If you’re going to take your audience for a ride or do deals under the table, you’re tarnishing your own brand. Some creators are not as obvious labelling their ads, but that will come and bite them in the ass. Management are also really good. If I forgot to hashtag #ad – that wouldn’t happen, but if it did – my manager would ring me straight away and get me to fix it. There’s a team behind the machine.”
Fitzmaurice lives with her fiance and their dog in Dublin, and the couple plan to marry next year. Will she be doing this job forever? It’s not a question she worries about. “Is any career long-term any more?” she says.
“People are changing their careers five or six times in their lifetime. Things are going really well for me. I love my job and I feel so privileged and lucky, but if we look to have a family in future maybe my perspective on the work I’m doing will change.”
‘I host women’s group trips: it’s the best thing I’ve done’
Stephanie Barry Woods
To her 115,000 Instagram followers, the life Stephanie Barry Woods leads is wonderfully cosmopolitan. From Cork, Barry Woods ditched her graduate banking job in London to go backpacking 10 years ago with her now husband Tim. Since then, she has visited 52 countries, with long spells in Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne. Currently in Bangkok, the next stop on the horizon is Tokyo. “We’re going to settle there for about two years.”
Followers can expect jaw-dropping landscapes and scenery on her @stephmylife Instagram feed, as well as helpful travel advice and personality-driven moments: Barry Woods often shows herself in ordinary day-to-day mode, celebrating birthdays, picking out cute outfits for a trip, or chilling out in her latest abode.
She and Tim bought a house in Abruzzo in southern Italy in 2021, which they use in summer as a European base. “The hard thing about living in Asia is that when you go home, you’re in your mum’s spare room or your friend’s house, and you’ve got this intense week,” she says. “Now we’ve got this place that’s a short flight away from London and Cork and Dublin.”
Barry Woods, who is 38, makes her living partly by helping travellers with bespoke itineraries. She also hosts tours for women travellers via her travel company @stephmylifetours. “It’s the best thing I’ve done,” she says. “I host women’s group trips for a week or two to cool places six or eight times a year. They’re so fun.”
“It’s mainly solo female travellers, predominately Irish, who might not have kids and want to travel, but their friends aren’t in the position to do it. I focus on places where women might not want to travel on their own: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mongolia, Japan. Friendships have been made, it’s a cool thing.”
Even though she loves her lifestyle, there are times when she longs to be back in Cork. Her father and her stepfather died very close together, in the autumn of 2022. She was grateful to be able to go home for four months, but living abroad afterwards was tough. “My mum was grieving and I was away and it was hard to support the family. That was something that you don’t think about when you’re leaving. That was a wake-up call for us. Now we come home more, and prioritise our parents more.”
For people thinking of following in her footsteps, Barry Woods says it’s important to focus on the joy of travelling rather chasing trends.
“The bubble of TikToks and trending places is going away,” she says. “People are looking more towards authentic travel experiences. Don’t try to be viral immediately. Show people why you love to travel. Don’t put yourself under pressure to go anywhere or do anything you don’t want to do. Just focus on your passion for travel – and get a good camera.”
‘It’s a great way to see the country and have a lot of fun’
Brinsley McNamara
Brinsley McNamara started the Weird Ireland Instagram account in January 2024, and quickly saw interest in his page soar. “By March it had 200,000 followers,” the 33-year-old, a NUIG Geography and Philosophy graduate, says.
Intended as a multimedia project with a “pithy and comedic angle” to showcase quirky spots of historical interest around the country, Weird Ireland today has 353,000 followers on the @weird.ireland Instagram account and 107,000 on TikTok. McNamara - whose name is a pseudonym - previously had an account called Weird Westmeath, so he knew what connected well with followers. For Weird Ireland: “I uploaded a video every day for six weeks. I had been planning on doing it for months before I did it, so I had a worked-out plan.”
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It wasn’t long before he was approached by Hachette Ireland to bring out a book, which arrived on shelves in late 2024. “They were looking at the virality, and I guess the thing that was most impactful was I had a strong brand: Weird Ireland is a good name.” McNamara has had sponsorships with Fáilte Ireland, LADBible, The Heritage Council and GoCar, as well as delivering podcasts and branching out into live events: he’s preparing for a show at the Sugar Club in Dublin on April 27th.
McNamara lives in his parents’ home in Mullingar and keeps his goals humble, noting that, as with broadcasters, influencers encompass a broad church. “It’s going to be very different if you’re just saying a few words about the weather on Midlands 103, or if you’re Pat Kenny,” he says. “I live at home so I don’t spend a whole lot of money and I don’t make a whole lot either. People assume you make a lot more money than you do.”
What Weird Ireland has given him is wonderful experiences with his friends, in part because he doesn’t drive, so someone has to ferry him around. “They’re all involved,” he says. “They’ll message me and say, ‘Brinsley, is there anything you’re wanting to do this weekend?’ Some of the guys are always keen for an adventure.” They enjoy going somewhere with a purpose. “Last year for St Patrick’s Day, we went to Dingle because they have a 6am parade there, so we got footage for that. It’s a great way to see the country and have a lot of fun.” He has a broad following, with a large portion of his followers stemming from Britain and the US.
He advises aspiring travel influencers to work on strategy. “Analyse people doing the same thing. See what competitors are doing and not doing and carve out a niche within that. Study your area and differentiate yourself.”
The important thing, he adds, is to make work that feels personally rewarding. “Getting a million views on Instagram or TikTok is a nice thing. I haven’t had one since April 2025. It is a proud feeling. But as long as I’m proud of the video – whether it’s informative or amusing – then I’m happy.”
‘I’ve said no to any restaurant or pub who ever offered me money’
Cassie Stokes
Food and travel influencer Cassie Stokes is one of the best-known social media personalities in the country, with 332,000 followers on Instagram, as @cassiestokes, and 132,000 on TikTok, where her relaxed, candid approach has attracted millions of views. Stokes’s ease on camera stems partly from her background: she’s a former Virgin Media television presenter, back when it was TV3, and she also worked in the hospitality industry in Canada, in Irish pub PJ O’Brien’s in Toronto’s financial district.
“It’s where I learned everything about hospitality, which crossed over with my presenting,” she says.
Originally from Dundrum in Dublin, she now travels from place to place, exploring pubs and restaurants around the country and sometimes abroad, highlighting quirky old pubs, great slices of pizza, and the best creamy pints, whether she pops up in Newry or New York. Wearing her signature uniform of a Barbour jacket and sunglasses, Stokes interviews people about their favourite spots, and it’s been a hit. “I love talking to people,” she says. “I was just like, maybe I’ll try this and see how it goes.”
Post the videos even though they could seem embarrassing or ridiculous
— Cassie Stokes
Earlier this year, TikTok put together a Discover list of their top 50 creators to watch globally, and Stokes made the cut. “I was in the top 10 foodies to watch in the whole world. It was incredible.”
She has an agent, Matchstick, and a publishing deal: her book, Best of Ireland, will be published by DK Books in October. “That pulls together all the videos I’ve done over the last few years into one book.”
Stokes gets paid through brands, including Aldi and An Post: she makes videos for them which is separate to her organic content. “We don’t get paid through TikTok or Instagram. I try to keep my channel really busy so even if there are ads, it’s not overrun with ads.”
What scale of income should a content creator expect? “I can pay my rent, which is great,” she says. “You hear of people making a very nice amount from being a content creator, but it really depends whether you’re inside or outside of Ireland.” She does not accept payment from pubs or restaurants (or free meals or beverages) – she makes this clear in her page profile. “I would have said no to any restaurant or pub who has ever offered me money. When I break it down, I actually lose money when I go to these places. I work with a camera person when I go and film. So I actually spend money.”
Sometimes people’s perceptions of her work bother her. “What has been hard over the last while is everyone thinking people get paid to go to places and just say, ‘This is good’. It’s fine if people get paid, but there are other people who don’t and I’m one of them, and I work really hard to find great places and share places that I enjoy.”
She hopes to get back into TV in the future. “I’d love to work on an Irish travel show or a show about Irish people in different parts of the world.” She recommends that people wanting her job should believe in themselves first and foremost.
“Be yourself, don’t try and be like anyone else,” she says. “Post the videos even though they could seem embarrassing or ridiculous. Post them. Once you’re talking about what you love, and doing what you enjoy, it’ll work. Enjoy change because it will lead to great things.”
‘It’s not as luxurious as everyone imagines’
Niamh Flynn
Niamh Flynn is a 28-year-old travel influencer from Kildare, who has 83,000 followers on her Instagram @niamhxtravels, where she posts videos and photography about hiking and travel in Ireland and abroad. When Flynn began posting on Instagram in 2020, despite early qualms about going down the influencer road – “I was mortified I’d give my friends the ick, they’d be embarrassed for me” – she loved taking photos, editing montages and exploring new destinations.
After one Central America trip, she spent two months pulling highlights into a video for friends and family. “Once I got the feedback from people that they liked it, I was like, ‘Do you know what, I can do this’.”
A data analyst by trade, Flynn took a mathematical approach to content creation in the early days. “I had a spreadsheet with the types of content I wanted to post, and then the videos in that category that did well. I had that broken down into: ‘What style of video was it? Was it talking to the camera? Was it quick clips?’ I had 100 videos listed and that gave me a methodology.”
When her following began to grow in the early 2020s, she accepted some #gifted hotel stays: “It was a great opportunity to travel and showcase different pieces of Ireland.” Like most influencers, she’s become reluctant, noting that, per the 2025 Revenue manual, she must pay tax on #gifted stays. “I have to pay for the tax on the hotel, any meals, any activities.” She adds: “I’ve met French influencers who will go on a press trip. They’ll say, ‘I’ll come and shoot this hotel. But can you put me up in a hostel just to keep my costs down?’ It’s not as luxurious as everyone imagines.”
She sometimes feels pressure to maintain an online facade. “I remember being mugged in Ecuador, I lost my drone, my camera, my laptop.” Flynn didn’t make a big deal about it online. “I was like, ‘This is fine’,” she says. She didn’t feel she had the right to complain when her followers expected a rose-tinted adventure. “For a lot of people this is their dream job.” She has also dealt with online trolls. “A guy was harassing me, saying, ‘You have daddy’s money and he’s paid for you to go off travelling.’ I wish. I work full time as a data analyst.”
Flynn negotiates her own collaborations because she doesn’t have an agent. On one trip to Catalonia, she recalls, a group of influencers told each other the truth about what they were getting paid. “Somebody had got two grand more than I’d got, which is a good chunk of money.”
Having spent long periods abroad, and now back renting in Dublin for the past year, Flynn has formed a company, Irish Travel Gang, with her partner Seamus, an accountant. They create bespoke group trips, which she plans to often host. “January was our first trip,” she says. “We did Mexico, and we have Japan, Tanzania and Sri Lanka towards the summer. People book, and from when they land into the country until they leave, we’ll look after them. Everything is organised. You travel with a group.”
Although she doesn’t think her career as an influencer will soon find favour with her bank manager - “I don’t think it’s an option to leave my job and get a mortgage” – Flynn would recommend her way of life, as long as people understand what they’re getting into.
“I would be discouraging people from doing it if they think they’ll get rich, but if they want to do it because they love it, then why not?”
Where are influencers’ favourite spots?
For a magical dining experience, head to the Homestead Cottage just outside of Doolin in Co Clare – my favourite restaurant on the island. Deeply rooted and quietly special – with a Michelin star to its name – it leans into simplicity, seasonality, and a real sense of place, letting the ingredients and the surrounding landscape speak for themselves. – Éadaoin Fitzmaurice
For a city pub, my favourite has to be Grogan’s. Sitting inside listening to regulars chat, a few pints being poured, the smell of toasties being toasted, the sound of a knife getting mustard out of a jar to put on said toastie. If I could bottle up Dublin in a sound it would be here. For an old world pub experience, try The Thatch in the village of Cloneen in Tipperary. The front door is like something from medieval times. It’s over 300 years old and you feel that when you walk in. For a pub with a view, it has to be The Bulman in Kinsale. When the sun is out, there will be people swimming, boats pulling up outside, bowls of mussels being enjoyed out front, pints everywhere. You feel like you’re on a movie set, it’s so perfect. – Cassie Stokes
My hometown of Mullingar in Co Westmeath has one of the best bakeries in the country, 2210 Patisserie, some of the best coffee, at Old News, and a free museum with the first written mention of the abominable snowman inside the Greville Arms Hotel, plus a shrine to Niall Horan. Ten minutes outside the town there’s one of the best examples you’ll ever see of a Sheela Na Gig at the Old Taghmon Church in Crookedwood, and Uisneach, one of the sacred hills of Ireland, is 20 minutes out the road. – Brinsley McNamara
The wildlife in the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador is incredible. We were swimming with sharks, sea lions, penguins and so many turtles that we stopped even pointing them out. The landscape was also breathtaking with volcanoes and beautiful sea views. We sailed with a company called Enchanted Expeditions and can’t recommend them enough, the food was great and they had a lodge on one of the islands which was a perfect little oasis. – Niamh Flynn
There’s a little island in Thailand called Koh Mak which is my favourite place on earth. When we go there it feels like going back in time, back when people travelled without smartphone and with a Lonely Planet guide to get around. There are no high rise hotels, no beach clubs, no busy tourist strip – and no Starbucks. Instead there are wide, beautiful, empty beaches, a great local Thai community and tourists who have been coming there for years. The first time we went they didn’t have a paved road, and street lights were added only a few years ago. Our first trip here is what inspired us to quit our jobs and travel, so it will always be a special place for us. – Stephanie Barry Woods
