Hector's new TV show features one man's journey from the USA to Sheep’s Head in County Cork

WHEN Bob Miller flew from his home in the US to Ireland in 2002, he fell in love with the place.

So much so, that within ten days he had bought a house on Sheep’s Head in Cork, which he and his family used as a holiday home for years before moving into it full-time.

Bob talks about his life here in a new series called Hector - Éire Nua, which starts on TG4 on Thursday at 9.30pm.

It follows Hector Ó hEochagáin on a whirlwind tour of Ireland, as he meets people from overseas who now call it their home.

From Brazil to the Congo, Canada to Ghana, Russia to Syria, he’s in search of answers of who they are, why they came, how they settled in and how Ireland is treating them. These people are the changing face of Ireland.

In the first episode, Hector hears about Bob, who has been married to Pam for 36 years - they met when he had a sports injury and she was his physiotherapist. They couldn’t date at the time as he was her patient but they knew the feelings were there, so they stayed in touch and began dating afterwards. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Retired now, Bob developed a software company for TV news production, which he then became the president of, and also purchased several TV stations as part of a group.

He has been brewing his own beer for years as a hobby and invested in many breweries and pubs in his home state of Wisconsin. 

Bob also cycled the entire length of Cork from Mizen Head Cork to Malin Head, 653km in six days to raise €58,000 for Spinal Injuries Ireland and Breast Cancer Ireland.

In the first episode of Hector - Éire Nua, the host begins his travels on the banks of the Blackwater in his home town of Navan where he meets Nigerian radio star Yemi Adenuga, hearing stories of her life before moving to Ireland.

He also meets the Kislinas from Latvia, who came here for work, and New Yorker Jeaic who came for the language.

Hector’s journey continues with a fishing excursion with a Frenchman that has made Clare his home.

He then encounters Victor, a Russian that learnt his impeccable Irish in Moscow. He discusses the daily struggles radio presenter Ola Majekodunmi experiences when trying to work with the Irish language and hears a heartwarming tale of nurse Patricia’s first time arriving in Ireland.

Future episodes will feature more people, who made the move to Cork, including Reham Ghafraji, a Syrian who moved here in 2018, and founded her own soap company, and Fernanda Gonzalez, who moved here from Argentina.