My Irish Homecoming - We’re back home but so many are leaving

Many friends and family members now ready to pack up and leave

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

25 Comments

April, Colum, Sadie and a group of friends.

Photo by April Drew

Tweet

People complained throughout the 10 days of beautiful weather we had before the rain crept back down from the mountains.

“It’s way too hot,” said almost everyone.

“I wish it would drop a few degrees because if this continues I’ll have to give up work,” joked a man doing his garden.

It was only about 78 degrees, maybe 82 at the highest.

But despite the up and down weather over the weekend I managed to catch up with some of my best friends for a girl’s weekend. Two of my closest friends, Niamh, a teacher, and Michelle, a doctor, have both had two kids each since I left for New York nine years ago.

Saturday was the first time in nine years all of us were together with our babies. We sat back and laughed at how much we had accomplished in such a short period of time.

Colum was mesmerized by Niamh’s oldest daughter Eabha. He made every attempt possible to hold her hand. It was adorable.

It didn’t feel that long ago that we were outside in the green area of our housing estate playing rounders, the Irish equivalent to baseball, and chasing boys.

On Saturday night we left the babies at home and 12 of us sat around one of Tralee’s finest restaurants, Denny Lane, drinking wine and catching up on the past nine years. It was a fantastic night – one that doesn’t happen much now for the girls since the recession, but a night that we promised will be repeated again in the not so distant future. 

I recently had a stroll around a local shopping center near John’s mom’s house in Limerick. I was disappointed, but not surprised I guess, to see many of the previously occupied shop units empty.

As Dunnes Stores consumed a number of units on one side of the mall, the other side was nearly void of life except for a phone and sports store (both are chains).

Two and a half years ago when we were home for our wedding most of these units were open but struggling I guess. The recession finally caught up to them.

And the recession has taken a big fat bite out of our young Irish. If I’m being honest most of my friends (mainly in their thirties – some married with kids, others single) are working and getting by fine, but it’s their younger sisters and brothers that are leaving in their droves. They call it the “Brian Drain.”

Louise, 25, spent a year in Australia before returning to Irish shores. Armed with a degree in psychology the young Kerry woman searched high and low for a job in her field.

When that proved fruitless she searched for any kind of work. The only offer she got was a part time job in a clothing store that paid minimum wage €8.65 euro ($10.75). Knowing she couldn’t survive on only 12 hours a week Louise booked a one way ticket to London where she is currently working in an accountancy firm.

A friend of mine is due to fly to Canada for her brother’s wedding in three weeks. Her brother immigrated to Toronto two years ago after failing to get a job in Ireland. He has a diploma in engineering and was let go from his job in the summer of 2010.

Print

E-mail

Tweet