The Irish have become pros when it comes to homecoming surprises, but this video really takes the biscuit.

Watch as a West Limerick girl arrives in Dublin in December 2014 and is greeted by her family and the excellent band Draíoct, but keep watching to the end and you’re sure to get shivers.

Carmel O’Connor traveled from Brisbane, Australia, to spend Christmas with her family for the first time in four years. So excited with the great news, the O’Connors gathered as a group, including the band Draíoct, to meet her at Dublin airport.

Little did her family know that Carmel had a surprise of her own and her family’s reaction is priceless.

There's something special about Christmas homecomings. Here's a compilation of some moments at Dublin Airport over Christmas 2013 that will bring a tear to your eye.

*Originally published in December 2014. Updated in December 2023.