Living in Australia on and off since 2007, DARREN GAFFNEYfound he missed home more, not less, as the years passed. So he 'felt a huge weight lift' after deciding to move back to Ireland for good next year
I’VE BEEN back and forth between Ireland and Australia three times over the past four years, and I have tried to make a good life for myself down under. A few of my Irish friends are marrying Australian girls and settling into long-term careers, and I could go down a similar path. But I’ve decided to turn my back on it all and go home in April.
My adventure started in 2007, when I went travelling with some friends for a year on an Australian working holiday visa. I spent some time working in an Irish bar in Melbourne and on a farm in Western Australia, and played some open mic-nights. It was a very easy 12 months, full of fun.
I had been working as an electrician for seven years before I left, when the economy was flying in Ireland. There was a huge amount of work at that time, and I thought I would be able to slip straight back into that life when I got home from travelling. We arrived back in the summer of 2008 to 60 days of consecutive rain. Lehman Brothers fell in September, and it soon became apparent that things weren’t going to be so easy after all.
After a difficult winter, I decided to go back to Australia when I was offered an electrician job in Darwin. After a few months I had my own van and tools, my electrical licence, and a nomination from the company I was working for, and had no problem getting permanent residency. At that stage, it felt like I could be there for a long time.
But I got homesick, and with the homesickness came dreams about Ireland.
I was very positive and happy most of the time otherwise, but after having these dreams I would wake up and my day would be totally disjointed and I couldn’t focus. I tried to combat this by keeping busy, but I just couldn’t shake it.
Having been home for six months I had re-bonded with my friends and family, and when those connections were broken again, I obviously found it difficult to get to grips with being so far away from everyone. I played the guitar, ukulele and harmonica with a band of friends at home. Music was a huge part of my social life that was almost completely missing from my life in Darwin.
I tried to stick it out there for as long as I could, but after 18 months, while I was home for a month’s holiday to be best man at a friend’s wedding, I decided to stay in Ireland. I just couldn’t leave. But the construction industry had completely collapsed by that stage and I couldn’t find work, and last April, after eight months on Social Welfare, I decided to give Australia one last shot.
This time I took my girlfriend, Carol, with me. I thought having someone close would make the move much easier, and we both got good jobs in Melbourne. But I started to become very impatient, and was losing my temper easily. Carol told me I was like a different person out here to who I was at home. Two months ago, she asked me if I wanted to go back, and as soon as she said it, I felt a huge weight lift. That was exactly what I wanted, and I’ve been walking on air since.
The thought of coming home with few job prospects makes me really nervous. We know we’re facing a tough time ahead. We’ve both decided to focus on courses on offer here for the remainder of our time, so we can take new knowledge back with us to Ireland. Carol’s a graphic designer and is looking to do an illustration course, and I am thinking of a solar install and design course. Renewable energy is an up-and-coming industry, and I am excited about the prospect of getting involved.
My mother cried down the phone when I told her I was coming back.
Because I am a resident here, she thought I would be gone for at least four or five years. She said to me “You’re Irish, you want to come home to your country, so just do it. It might be hard, but you’ll get by.”
That encouragement meant the world to me. She’s right: there aren’t many opportunities in Ireland at the moment, but you have more of a chance if you are willing to be adaptable.
I’ve certainly had an adventure here. There is natural beauty to be found everywhere, from the stunning coastlines to the arid national parks. But nothing compares to home, where I have all the support and friendship and family that I could ask for. I know you can’t get by on that alone, but for my own happiness, I think that is far more important than having a good job. I’m 29 now, which I know is still young, but these connections mean more to me as I get older.
I have friends at home without work at the moment, who feel anxiety because they are still living there while others have emigrated to sunnier places and seem to be having a great time for themselves. But emigration is not successful for everyone.
I’m in Melbourne and I’m working, and I know some people mightn’t have much sympathy for me, but all I want to do is come home, to be in Ireland again with my friends and my family, regardless of the employment opportunities. Life is too short.
Destination in focus: Australia
A popular destination for working holiday visas during the boom, the global financial crisis didn’t strike Australia as hard as it did elsewhere, so it is now one of the major receivers of Irish immigrants seeking long-term employment.
* Unemployment levels in Australia were just 5.2 per cent in October, one of the lowest rates in the world.
* Occupations in particular demand include construction, engineering and mining, health and medical services, hospitality and tourism, IT and computing, and accounting and finance. For a full list of skills in demand, see the Skilled Occupation List which includes all professions and jobs which are prioritised for visas.
* The number of Irish people granted working holiday visas between June 2010 and June 2011 was 21,753 – up almost 50 per cent on the same period the previous year.
* All visitors to Australia need to apply for a visa in advance of arrival. The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship website (immi.gov.au) has the details.
'We love Ireland, but love money more': What you've been telling Generation Emigration
Readers respond to the question: Would you move back to Ireland?
Katie: The first year in London was an adventure but year two seemed more serious. I worry the longer we are here, the harder it will be to leave. We will be "Paddies" in London and "visitors" at home, we won't really fit in anywhere. Would I move home if I could? Yes. Do I think that's likely in the next three to five years? Sadly, no.
Diane: I hold onto the hope that I will move back to Ireland but I am not sure if it is wishful thinking on my part.
Cian: While I will cherish all the great relationships I enjoy at home, there is always a sense that Ireland remains the tribute band to England: and tribute bands never chart well.
Aoife:I still miss home. There's something about Pádraic Ó Conaire's Scothscéalta from school always ringing in my head. Emigration from Ireland has cultivated so many tortured laments and heartbreaking ballads. Will we be returning home? Yes.
Aidan: My wife is Japanese, we converse in French and the children rabbit on in whatever language is handy, so I can't see where we could fit in at home. What we need from the society around us is not available in Ireland.
Darryl:When I left I didn't have a firm plan to return to Ireland, but I figured the door would never close completely. But I felt every year the boom went on would have to add another year to the bust. Eventually I realised that I had to move on with my new life.
Ann:Like many here in the States, I have fallen into the unemployment trap through no fault of my own. I now find myself in no-man's land. I can't go back home . . . so I am stuck, struggling in a foreign country, that gives little or no help.
Paul: I would only move back to Ireland in retirement. I have a great time visiting home every year. By living in the States, I appreciate Ireland much more than if I lived there.
Caroline:If there's one thing I've learned from my emigration experience it's to never rule anything in and never rule anything out.
Andrew:I miss home, especially Mum and Dad, and other little things niggle like watching sporting events at 4am. But I'll stay in Australia as long as I'm happy.
Kate:I moved to Madrid two years ago. My brother's moving here on Saturday. My Mom is thinking of learning Spanish because realistically, it'd be a lot nicer to be a broke pensioner in Spain than in Ireland if your family are in Spain. At least sitting out in the sun is free.
Captain Liberte: After much consideration I decided I could not move back home. My "home" is where I am right now; the Ireland I left behind is changed and so have I.
Ian:I moved to Australia in 1998 and moved back in 2006. The feeling I got was that returning emigrants were not wanted.
Seosaimh:It is funny (or not, I suppose) how many people look at pure economics when considering return. It appears we all love Ireland, but love money more. Is trua sin.
In conversation with CIARA KENNY
