Jan Hailey Reyes Coy was only 16 when she began her training to become a nurse. The eldest of five children, Reyes was planning to study science after school when her mum suggested she apply for nursing.
“I still remember the day she came back with the application. I hadn’t aspired to be a nurse but my parents talked about the respect of the profession. It was really hard making that decision at such a young age but I trusted my parents. I did the entrance exam and got a place. It was hard to get into that university so I felt privileged to be there from the beginning. I loved every minute, it opened my eyes to the responsibilities and duty of care.”
After completing her studies in Manila, Reyes moved back to her native Quezon city for further hospital training. She knew many Filipino nurses had started travelling to North America and the UK for work and Reyes considered going to the United States. However, one day, her mother arrived home with an application to work in Ireland.
“She had gone to Mass and there was an agency across the road from the church doing a nursing drive. The longest queue was to work in the States but there was one desk where no one was queuing. When my mum asked where it was for they said it’s for Ireland so she took an form.”
Two months later, in June 2002, Reyes moved to Ireland. “I was 24 at the time but it was my first time going abroad. The move was very hard. I still remember I forgot my purse with all my money. When I got to London Heathrow all the other girls bought call cards to phone home and I discovered I had no purse.”
'Trying to live independently without my parents was difficult. I was used to having help with everything back home'
Reyes was met in Dublin airport by a representative from the nursing agency which had secured her new job at a nursing home in Naas. She spent the initial few weeks in Tallaght and was then brought to Kildare. “The real homesickness started when the taxi collected me to bring me to my new home in Naas. I remember travelling through lots of back roads and seeing sheep everywhere. It was eerily quiet and ringing home was not as easy as now.”
“Trying to live independently without my parents was difficult. I was used to having help with everything back home. I thought there would be a huge cultural difference but I come from a Catholic family with strong family ties which I could see existed here too. I love that about the Irish people.”
Reyes met her future husband within months of arriving on a night out in Naas. “It was actually my first time going out with friends here. I met him at a nightclub and we dated for six months. He went to America for two years but came back and we started going out again.”
In 2005, Reyes’s mother joined her in Ireland to work in a nursing home. She left behind three children in the care of her husband and mother. “It was difficult for her to be so far from family but she’d always wanted to work in healthcare. As soon as she got a permanent job she applied for my two younger siblings to come here too.”
The following year, Reyes left the nursing home after securing a job as a staff nurse in the emergency department of Naas general hospital. “I always wanted to challenge myself and set new goals. I know emergency care is chaotic and unpredictable, but I love it. I don’t get stressed and have this ability to stop and think before making a decision. It helped me through the chaos of the emergency room and I felt I could be the calm in the storm.”
In 2010, Reyes became an Irish citizen which she says “opened up more opportunities and possibilities”. “Before, I had to renew my visa every two years. Having citizenship removed all that and allowed me to go abroad without having to apply for a visa every single time. I also knew by then I would be living here for a very long time and maybe settling down.”
'We both decided we wanted our children to have Irish names and Mallaidh came from my husband's love of James Joyce novels'
She went on to study for a postgraduate diploma in emergency nursing and a master of science in nursing at UCD. Reyes and her husband still live in Naas and have two daughters called Caoileann Harley (5) and Mallaidh Bloom (3). “As soon as I moved here I admired Irish names and became obsessed with them. We both decided we wanted our children to have Irish names and Mallaidh came from my husband’s love of James Joyce novels.”
Both girls describe themselves as Irish-Filipino, she says. “I just hope they can visit the Philippines soon. I thought it would be easy to teach them my language but it’s hard.”
Late last year, Reyes qualified as an advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) in emergency care following studies at Trinity College. This more senior nursing role allows for far more “direct contact with patients”, she says. As far as Reyes is aware there are only four Filipino nurses in advanced specialism positions in Ireland although she hopes her achievements can inspire younger Filipinos to follow that path.
Reyes says she’s never experienced discrimination but did often feel she had to work harder to rise up the ranks. “Even though I had the same qualifications I felt I had to prove myself more. Every immigrant has to make more of an effort to prove themselves; that’s just the reality of life.”
Reyes had only just completed her ANP studies when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Ireland earlier this year. “Having to go straight into that new role during Covid while worrying about elderly family members back home was difficult. No one knew what was going to happen, whether we would catch it or whether I would pass it on to my family. But everyone in work was very supportive. We all had to restrict our movements and my kids didn’t get to see my in-laws, their grandparents, for two months.”
Reyes is eager to point out that she wouldn’t have reached this point in her life had it not been for the people around her. This support came “from my mum who encouraged me and pushed me to do nursing. And then it was my husband who encouraged me to do further studies. He’s always told me ‘you can do this’. The two of them have made a huge contribution to my life.”
