New to the Parish

‘I used to have a firearm for protection. In Ireland I walk home at 10 o’clock at night by myself’

Vannessa Murphy and Zuandra Van Tonder moved from South Africa to Tipperary town in 2022

From China to Dublin: ‘My first year in Ireland, I was usually eating biscuits or bread, because it’s cheaper’

When Chenchen He moved to Ireland from Fujian Province in southeast China in 2009, it was her first time to leave the country

From Mongolia to Dublin: ‘Coming to Ireland was a blessing. It was a great move for my life, I have no regrets’

Gonchigkhand Byambaa, who moved from Mongolia to Dublin in December 2017, has fully immersed herself in community activism

‘Ireland is one of the most generous nations in the world, but things have been tricky at times’

Segun Akano from Nigeria came to Ireland in 2002

‘The first comment I received is that Americans tend to be loud’

John Larson Tracey moved from Washington to Ireland in 2019 and now lives in Kildare with his husband

A Palestinian in Ireland: ‘Even in Ireland, you can see there are people oppressed, but it’s hidden’

Dancer Amir Sabra arrived in Ireland from a Palestinian refugee camp in Nablus in 2021

‘American men are a lot more self-centred. In Ireland they’re a lot easier to talk to. They’re very flirtatious’

Nadine Scully moved to Dublin from Seattle in 2017

‘Good old hedonistic Galway has a tendency of catching you,’ says a Lithuanian in Ireland

Emilija Jefremova from Lithuania first moved to Ireland in 2006

A Californian woman in Dublin: ‘Ireland’s not perfect, but I do think as a whole it is moving in the right direction’

Morgan Steele from Los Angeles, California, first moved to Ireland in 2017

An Englishman on Irish life: ‘There is an underlying positivity in Ireland, certainly in comparison to your Anglo-Saxon neighbours’

Barnaby Sandow recently moved to Ireland from England with his wife, Gwendoline

From Afghanistan to Ireland: ‘We had no choice. While we were sitting on the plane, everybody was crying’

Marwa Zamir moved to Ireland in 2016 when she was 13. She says she was the only one in her family who was excited

‘The US has become really divisive. I definitely prefer the quality of life here. I like the people and the possibilities’

A month-long trip to France led to romance and a new life in rural Co Cork for New Yorker Jessica Bonenfant

‘I feel like in Ireland we have women in higher positions and opportunities for women to grow’

Clara Lemos, from Rio de Janeiro, moved to Dublin in 2022 for her job, but has stayed because of the people

Irish education and food are great but ‘as a sober person, it’s very odd to be here’

Max Wolpoff, from near Washington DC in the US, moved to Dublin this autumn

From Transylvania to Donegal: The Irish are much better at ‘being joyful’

Columbia Hillen moved from Transylvania to Donegal’s Gaeltacht region in 2010

‘We moved in with each other after seven days. We got engaged after eight months’

Kilkenny is now home to Nicole Server, from the Philippines, and Bart Pawlukojc, from Poland

A Dane in Dublin: ‘In Denmark death is taboo but in Dublin I’ve been met with a different warmth’

Grief has given a Danish journalist the strength to live her life in Dublin on her own terms and find healing

‘Longford was the town of my dreams. In Ukraine, I lived in a big city and it was terrible’

New to the Parish: Oleksandra Kurova moved to Ireland from Dnipro in 2022

From Bavaria to Kinsale: ‘The standard of Irish properties is absolutely terrible. There’s always something wrong’

New to the Parish: Robin Gehret from Germany moved to Ireland in 2017 and has settled in Co Cork

From Australia to Inishbofin: ‘The girls are so free here. Life is easier. Their lives in Sydney were so structured’

New to the Parish: Bronwyn Ferguson moved from Australia to Inishbofin off the west coast of Ireland in 2022

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