Corkonians Abroad: Siblings all settle Down Under in Oz

STEPHANIE O’FLAHERTY

Tell us about your journey to Perth?

The thought process began with me throwing caution to the wind and throwing the idea out to my husband Cathal. He was a little more cemented in his Cork life with a permanent job, great friends, heavily invested in Blue Demons basketball club and the social sessions in the Joshua Tree that went with it. He had a bit more to lose than I did and needed to think it through.

So we did what every sane couple would do to make a life-altering decision, we flipped a coin (heads is always the right call) and heads it was.

After a month in Thailand, we started in Perth as Cathal had family there and, well, that one year has now turned into 11, a citizenship, a house, a marriage and now a baby later.

Tell us about your Cork community in Perth?

Myself and Cathal are extremely lucky to have not just my immediate family but a group of friends who have become so close they are now our extended family.

We always say they are a huge reason we are still here, we as a group have gone through some of our highest highs and lowest lows and to have a group of people around you during these times makes it a little easier to be away from home.

What does it mean to have your siblings also living in Perth?

One of the hardest parts about moving away from home is leaving family and the feeling of missing out of big life events.

I have been fortunate enough to have a piece of mine here. I love my brothers and am grateful to have them and their wives at our door- step, though (I’m sure they won’t mind me saying) the greatest part of having them here is getting to see and spend time with my nephew and nieces on a regular basis and not having to watch them grow up through a phone.

We come from a big family, as many Irish do, and with 28 cousins on my dad’s side, this is exactly how we grew up, always surrounded by uncles, aunts and cousins at my nan and granda’s kitchen table, which was and still is the nucleus of it all, and continuing this tradition in Perth gives me a taste of home.

Being a new mother, was it difficult being away from your family in Cork?

Being honest, the lead up wasn’t too bad as I didn’t overthink it and was probably a little over-confident thinking, at 33, how hard could it be. I was content to have time for myself and Cathal to do this solo and find our feet as new parents. I was happy to go into this chapter finding our own path and not getting overwhelmed by a plethora of opinions and advice. However, I can see now the important role family plays with regards to that support system when raising a family.

What do you miss most about Cork?

Aside from family and friends, definitely Donatellos chicken baguettes, but to be honest I have always missed the friendly nature of the Cork people in general. 

Whether you know someone or not, greeting people walking down the road, the kind generous nature and sense of community that Cork people have to offer.  Probably the reason our friendship group is made up of so many Corkonians.

Tell us about your career?

I have a degree in pharmaceutical chemistry so I came to Perth looking for work in that field. Unfortunately for me, the food and pharma sector isn’t that big in Perth and so I had to adapt to other fields to get work initially.

In 2016, I was lucky enough to land a role as Western region Quality Officer at ALS geochemistry division. ALS Global’s Geochemistry division provides a testing services for the mining and exploration industries across the world. The role started in 2016 as a team of one (me) which has now expanded to a team of 11.

My role involves coordinating the day to day runnings of the team, with the main goal being to maintain quality regulations for all of our laboratories across the western region and Adelaide.

JOHN CARMODY

Did Stephanie being in Perth influence your decision to make the move?

I suppose my journey to Perth all began when my sister first told us she was leaving to move to Australia with her boyfriend. I was working in Apple computers and was talking with a few people about going there. They were giving me advice, saying I’m going to just go for it, and then my dad walked past and said something that gave me the push to do it.

So from there I contacted Rebecca, my now wife, and said, let’s move to Perth, and she was all for it, so off we went in the next day and sorted visas in the agency.

How is Perth different to Cork?

It’s completely different than living in Cork. The weather is good most of the year, it’s a coastal city with beaches for miles. There are plenty of outdoor activities for the kids to get out and play amazing costal walks. In saying that, I work a lot, six days a week, so I’m pretty busy with work and the kids.

What have been the biggest challenges for you living abroad?

The biggest challenge for me was leaving all the family and friends. I was a very family-oriented person and loved just randomly calling to anyone of my extended family members houses, just to call in and have a cup of tea and a chat. I had a very good social life back there with my childhood friends from school.

I played basketball with Blue Demons from the age of eight until I left at the age of 22. But you make a new life out here and you meet new people from all over the world.

What is a typical weekend like for you in Perth?

In a typical weekend for me and my family in Perth, we try get out as much as we can because I work six days a week but finish at 12.30 on a Saturday. 

So we bring the kids to an outdoor playground up the street, or catch up with my sister in her place who just recently had a baby girl, Evie, a few weeks ago. Also, my brother, who also has a daughter Allie, and my two kids Elijah and Freya.

LIAM CARMODY

How have you settled in Perth since joining your siblings?

It is extremely tough moving away from your family. I was extremely blessed to not have the worries my sister and brother had and many other people have when you first fly the nest. I arrived to a completely different lifestyle, but having that ever-present family bond has made things much easier for me compared to most others trying to settle into life in Australia.

Do you think there are more opportunities in Australia compared to Ireland?

I don’t think it’s all about the opportunities, but more the combination of the lifestyle and work ethic. 

You get very little help here so having a high work ethic or a will to study further opens those opportunities and allows you to try to find that work life/balance that gets heavily promoted here.

Tell me a little about your work/career

I work as an orderly porter in Joondalup health campus. I like the social aspect of the job, being from Cork we like to talk and I feel that if I can distract the patient for 5-10 minutes talking about anything that isn’t related to why they’re in hospital, then I’ve done my job as too many people are distracted by their phones and social media and nobody looks at each other or even smiles anymore, so I feel like it’s a critical part of my job.

I have just received my permanent residency so can now go on for further study, and I am currently deciding whether to study paramedicine or nursing to further climb the ladder.