The new Galway Tribal Diaspora Project is gathering tales from native Galwegians who left Ireland to start a new life abroad. This is Danny Darcy, who's living in Tenerife, Spain's story.
Read more: New Galway project tells Diaspora Tribe's stories from around the world
Like many young Galway people in the 1980s and early 1990s, Danny Darcy found a lack of opportunity at home in the years before the Celtic Tiger. Music was a huge part of his childhood and all six Darcy brothers were members of the city’s St Patrick’s Brass Band.
He was offered an opportunity to become a full-time singer in an Irish bar on the holiday island of Majorca, Spain, in 1995 and could not turn it down. Danny currently lives in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where a steady stream of Irish visitors in search of the sun keeps him in touch with home.
As Danny’s mother still lives in Galway, he manages to make it home to Galway four or five times a year and he loves to fly home to see the hurlers play in Croke Park. He can be disarmingly honest about the changes he has seen over the 23 years since he left his native city.
“Tenerife is now home and where I continue to work as a musician,” he says. “As well as getting paid to follow my passion for music, the other big plus is the weather – definitely a huge life-changer! I would always consider myself to be a positive person and I’ve found from day one that working in a warm climate makes people more happy, expressive and easier to mix with.”
Danny misses the Guinness, the GAA games, and the intimate gigs in places such as the Roisin Dubh and Monroe’s. He believes that some Galway people take the city’s thriving music scene for granted at times, and can be shocked by the prices when he brings his mother out for a meal during his trips home.
“As a city I think we are being ripped off – drink, cigarettes, hotel prices, food, parking are all becoming ridiculous now. In the broader sense though I think that overpriced pubs, restaurants, etc. are killing the art of conversation and happiness in our city,” he says.
“These issues aside, I’ll still continue to make the regular trips home and I’m always thrilled to get back to Croke Park to support the Galway hurlers on All-Ireland final day. Looking at the weather outside, though, Tenerife is most definitely home for now!”
You can read more stories from the Galway Tribal Diaspora Project here:
- Patrick J. Conneely, Massachusetts
- Tom Higgins, Ontario, Canada
The entire project can be viewed online at galwaytribe.com. If you have a friend or family member who would be interested in taking part, you can email Michael at diaspora@galwaycivictrust.ie or fill in the online application form at www.galwaytribe.com.
* Ciaran Tierney won the Irish Current Affairs Blogger of the Year award at the Tramline, Dublin, last month. Find him on Facebook at facebook.com/ciarantierneymedia onTwitter @ciarantierney.
This article was submitted to the IrishCentral contributors network by a member of the global Irish community. To become an IrishCentral contributor click here.
Comments