Somebody broke in and stole our Christmas gifts – but I felt a sense of gratitude
Even as we picked our mostly valueless property up, I marvelled at the fact that in Canberra, unlike in Dublin, you get storage as standard. Lots of it
Irish abroad
An Irish flight attendant’s top travel tips on how to avoid stress on your next trip
New year, new adventures, same old lack of preparation? Here are my five simple yet effective tricks that can transform your travel experience from chaotic to calm
‘I landed in Addis Ababa for a challenge that blended my love of running with a commitment to those in need’
In the 40th anniversary year of Live Aid, New York-based Bray man Mark O’Toole explains what motivated him to do the Great Ethiopian Run
‘Copenhagen is like Disneyland compared to Munich: moving here immediately resonated with me’
Wild Geese: Caroline Ryan, Copenhagen
‘I stepped through a door and emerged as a US citizen’
With a fierce drive to prove myself, I was the underdog from Milltown determined to outwork everyone in the room
New Year’s in Australia: When you leave home to live abroad, you take any traditions you can feasibly translate
I don’t really know what a new year in Australia might hold. It has a vast unfamiliarity to me that country itself still does
Undocumented Irish still fighting for legal status in US as Donald Trump promises new crackdown
Former congressman Bruce Morrison says Irish who overstayed holiday visa waivers lose right to a defence if new president takes aggressive approach on illegal immigration
Megan Nolan: A conversation with a man in his late 30s made clear the realities of this new era in my dating life
Family, career, friends or adventure? Only the truly wealthy can attempt to have a bit of everything
An Irishwoman sailing around the world: ‘This paradise has just seven residents and two dogs’
Dubliner Kate Ashe-Leonard left Ireland in 2017 to live with her partner in London. In 2018, they began their adventure to sail around the world
Older Irish people in London: ‘It is so important to have something to get people out of the house. It breaks down the loneliness’
The networks of ‘joy and friendship’ helping the older Irish community in London
‘The Christmas swim is going to be a lot nicer’: Young Irish expats embrace their first Australian Christmas
How do the Irish in Melbourne feel about spending their first festive season Down Under?
The top five most read Abroad stories of the year
The challenges of returning to Ireland from Singapore, the intensity of college sport in the US and how to get in flight attendants’ bad books
A critic of this column thinks there’s too much negativity about Ireland, not enough about Australia’s beaches
That reader should know that, even though I live 3½ hours from the coast, I am taking her concerns on board
‘In Ireland we have lost some the human connection in business dealings. In Uganda it is deeply valued’
Wild Geese: Living and working in Uganda, Declan Peppard ‘truly misses’ St Anne’s Park in Dublin
An Irishman in Basque Country: ‘My first encounter with a tortilla came out of necessity. Now I order one out of desire’
From my experience of them in Ireland I expected a bland flavour. How wrong I was
From an Irish workhouse to Australia – the story of the Famine orphan girls
Every year descendants of the thousands of orphaned Irish teenage girls sent to Australia during the Great Famine gather in Melbourne to remember them
Australia offers me a more dignified life than the one I had in Ireland. It’s not unpatriotic to say so
Like many emigrants, the reality is that I am more invested in Ireland than the country I have moved to
‘Trades are very well paid here compared to anywhere else in the world I have been’
Wild Geese: Chris Kidney is a carpenter in Melbourne, Australia
‘I know nothing about running a kitchen . . . it looks like absolute hell – tiring, time consuming and extremely risky’
Irishman Oscar Brophy is subletting the kitchen of his new Bratislava bar-cum-nightclub, whose name translates as Falling Plaster
‘Learning Gaeilge is a true challenge’
Anna Derrig talks about life in London and Martina Tyrrell discusses settling in Spain after sailing around the globe
The Italian job: In Dubai, you eat on the go. In Tuscany? Lunch is two hours minimum, and you savour every bite
Following a post-holiday dream, Irish-born Niall O’Toole and his family now run a wine and holiday business in Tuscany
An Irish businessman in Singapore: ‘You’ll get a year in jail if you are in a drunken brawl, so people don’t step out of line’
Wild Geese: Martin O’Regan has a leading role in a niche business in the island nation
Many Irish have voted with their feet but can’t vote in the election. The reason is plain
What are opponents to voting abroad so afraid of? The explanations of ‘it’s too hard’ or ‘it’s too risky’ feel threadbare and lazy
An Offaly woman in London: ‘I was a teenager before I had the guts to identify as Irish’
I don’t really do envy, but I envied the sense of belonging all the native speakers had with their array of languages
Australia is so very far from Europe and US, and yet is as deeply rooted in Anglosphere norms, customs and culture
If you’re having an out-of-body experience, pasta and cheese may not strictly fix it, but they certainly won’t do you any harm
In Paris it’s always about your next meal - here are my favourite restaurants in the City of Light
Dublin woman Patricia Killeen always enjoys an excellent experience with her meal in Paris - but only if she goes go out
Brianna Parkins: ‘The Irish have a natural instinct for nosiness’
What better way to spend a hot sunny day than in the park, staking out two strange couples’ proposals?
Washing up in Iberia: ‘We realised we weren’t ever going to sail the world, so we moved ashore and sold the boat’
Plans changed when this family paid a visit to a little piece of paradise during a round-the-world yacht trip
Irishman in Canada for 50 years: ‘I was about to return home after three years but then things changed’
Patrick McKenna fitted right into the political hothouse in Montreal in 1978, which provided him with the adrenaline rush he had been missing since leaving Belfast
Laura Kennedy: Australians respond differently to nature compared to Irish people
I awoke early one morning in Canberra to a bizarre sound. What the actual f**k is that, I thought, a pterodactyl? It was a magpie, but not like the ones I’d known
I moved to London certain that I’d eventually return home. Now, I’ve settled
This Dubliner has seen a lot of change happen in London, but when will she come back to Ireland?
An Irish woman in Malta: ‘I miss my family and the greenery of home but not the driving rain’
Solicitor Fiona Healy cites the lower cost of living, the international focus and the ease of doing business as reasons why she loves living on the Mediterranean island
Poet Paul Muldoon: ‘My dad, a market gardener, was a guy who could barely write his own name’
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, academic and musician Paul Muldoon on growing up in a nationalist family in Co Armagh, life in Belfast during the Troubles and moving to the US
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Six Nations 2025
Get the latest news, analysis and match reports from the M6N and W6N championships
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices