Podcasts to the pandemic years are what blogs were to the mid-noughties: ubiquitous, widely varying in content and quality, a kind of digitally-driven free-for-all where only the fittest survive the inevitable audience drop-off.
You would have been forgiven for thinking that A County Down Under, begun in June 2020, might not have survived the cull. The premise was simple, the production values low: Caroline McKenna had moved from Ireland to Australia, and she thought she had some insights to share with others considering the same.
Well, she was on to something – about how hard it is to transpose your life, about the realities of an Australian existence beyond the Insta-perfect posts of social media – and five seasons in, A County Down Under is not going anywhere.
McKenna distinguished herself from others of her ilk by finding her niche with impressive speed: at the outset at least, this pod was for people moving to Australia in particular and emigrants from Ireland in general. McKenna’s format was to invite friends, fellow immigrants and influencers to talk all things Living Abroad.
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Episodes were dedicated to practical tips – how to get certified to teach in Australia, what to expect from farm work – to dives into the emotional turmoil of experiencing life’s watersheds while away from your cultural and familial connections. What’s it like to live through a major break-up, or give birth, or even just celebrate Christmas without family? What does homesickness feel like and how do you navigate it?
A County Down Under is loose and informal, and the production appropriately DIY: this is up close and as personal as it gets, with the host holding forth unfiltered and unscripted. Over the two and a half years since the launch of the podcast, McKenna has also used the platform to explore her own personal passions, which include fitness, mental health, and general wellness.
To be clear: these are not my passions, and in that sense I may not be A County Down Under’s target audience. Nor does a life lived so publicly – heartbreak, friend troubles, and all – have a particular appeal to this recalcitrant Gen Xer, though McKenna’s forthrightness about struggle is winning and admirable. But I am an Irish person who has lived abroad for much of my adult life – I know the drill, and the longing. So A County Down Under is at its most successful – for me, at least – when McKenna explores the tensions familiar to anyone who has emigrated between Ireland and wherever your new life has been built.
Guests over the show’s 80-plus episodes have included wellness empress and influencer Sinead Hegarty, Jamie Harkin, chief executive of vintage clothing brand Jamie Online, and fitness author and podcaster Brian Keane, but the most illuminating for this listener was a member of Australia’s Stolen Generation, Tony Shaw, and the host deserves credit for taking a step to understand the darker parts of her adopted country’s history.
McKenna, a teacher by profession, has made a media empire of her personal interests and public musings: beyond the podcast, she’s got a robust TikTok presence, a heavily populated Instagram feed, and a website that details her various projects, which include her Sunrise Social gatherings across the world, and a how-to book on moving to Australia. It’s an impressive hustle, and though the podcast has become more polished in production over the years, the rawness remains in her bare-all approach, giving personal heartbreaks and emotional dramas the same airspace as interviews about mindfulness and motivational thinking.
McKenna recently moved back to Ireland, to “give it a go” after 10 years abroad. Will it mean a rebrand for A County Down Under? Watch a digital space near you to find out.
