Corkonians Abroad: How I made Melbourne my goal...

FOURTEEN years ago, Alan Kearney, from Pophams Road in Farranree, moved to Australia for what he thought would be 12 months - he is still there.

I asked the former sportsman what had lured him there - and why he decided to stay 

How did you end up on the other side of the world, Alan?

I’ll be honest, when I look back to the start of 2009 I wasn’t in a particularly good place after the disappointment of things not working out for me in England as a football player or back in the League of Ireland. 

The self-esteem at 21 was low at that point.

I’ve been away from home 20 years now as I went to England in 2003 when I signed for Everton. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out as I would have hoped and I returned home for a few years in between, 2007/08, and signed and played for Cobh Ramblers.

One of the beauties of playing sport is the people you meet and fortunately for me that season Cobh also signed Greg O’Halloran.

During the year, Greg had mentioned to me about a guy he knew in Melbourne that was managing a team in the National Premier League and he put me in touch.

Australia was never something that I thought about in terms of travelling or backpacking, but with Ireland entering a recession, and considering I left school at 15 to go across to England, my future at that point wasn’t looking too good.

This was at a time when experienced people with degrees and trades were out of work.

Greg’s contact in Australia offered me a one-year deal, an apartment in Melbourne, and a visa, depending on how things went.

I didn’t take much convincing, and in the space of a few months, I was in Melbourne, playing football and experiencing a new way of life.

What is life like in your new home?

Life in Melbourne is pretty good. It’s my home away from home at this stage. I had two years living in Sydney recently, but Melbourne pulled me back eventually.

There is always something going on in Melbourne, whether it’s sport/concerts or going out in and around the city. It’s known for being one of the best sporting cities in the world with the tennis, F1, AFL and soccer games all hosted close to the city.

It’s got a very European vibe to it and I don’t mind that it has a cold spell during the winter to give you a bit of a taste from home.

What has been the biggest challenge?

Trying to build a life here at the start was challenging. Most young Irish people that come to Australia are equipped with trades or degrees which obviously makes them good prospects in the job market, and they tend to hit the ground running once they get settled.

It was a different story for me, I was playing semi-professional football in Melbourne, which was great, but the season here only lasts for six months so the other six months of the year I had to go and find work.

But to be fair to the football clubs I played for, they always looked after me by putting me in touch with people to keep me going.

I must have had about 20-odd jobs down through the years, driving vans, labouring on building sites, working part-time in a gym amongst a load of others.

It wasn’t until I got residency in 2017 that it freed me up to really make a go of it here career-wise. 

Again, the connections that I made in football came back around to help me, I was captain at Port Melbourne and the manager at the club worked in financial planning, he advised me to do a course which opened the door to me getting a job at ANZ (one of the big four banks).

I’ll never forget the first day going up in the lift with a sense of dread and fear, but thankfully I survived.

I’ve been in financial services now for just over six years and really enjoy it. I got a job at Deloitte in 2021 managing a team on a financial planning remediation project, and this year I moved across to work at AFCA (Financial Ombudsman).

I manage a team that investigates banking and finance issues across a range of product types.

We are dealing with a lot of investment scams and transaction issues now due to the sophistication of techniques scammers are using on the public.

How might you spend your weekends?

The Aussie lifestyle is an active one - I usually start it off by going for a run around Albert Park Lake on a Saturday morning followed by catching up with friends.

As anyone who lives away or has lived away will know, your friends become family and I have a group of friends in Melbourne that I met in 2009 that I catch up with over the weekend.

It could be at a barbecue at a mates’ house or out for dinner and drinks. It is the football off season now in Melbourne so at the moment I am coaching small groups or 1-1 sessions on the weekends.

Tell us a bit about the culture of where you live?

I knew Australia from my nan and mother watching Home And Away, so it was a bit of a shock as a young 21-year-old to find out how multicultural it is in Melbourne, and it is something that I really appreciate about living here.

The football scene here has a rich European history, with the majority of clubs set up by European migrants in the 1950s and ’60s.

I have played for a number of clubs down through the years that have different heritages - I’ve played for Turks, Greeks, Albanians, Croatians and Italians - and it’s been amazing to experience those cultures through football.

Hanging around at the club, chatting to supporters about their own journeys to Australia has always been something that I’ve appreciated.

When I first got here, I couldn’t get over the fact that everyone went for breakfast together to catch up and how big the coffee scene was. Melbourne is renowned for its café culture.

When I left Cork in 2009, I don’t think there was a breakfast scene, if one of the lads back then asked me to go for breakfast I would have thought there was something wrong.

What has been your most memorable moment in Australia so far?

My parents came to visit me in 2018 and in 2020 just before Covid, it was special to show them Melbourne and the life I have made for myself here and to introduce them to my Aussie family.

I was part of a team called Southern Stars that mainly consisted of former League of Ireland players - and we went on to win a league and played together for mre than three years.

That was an unreal time, playing and living with your best mates.

When I lived in Sydney, it was great to be so close to my cousin Ryan, his partner Katie as well as my friends, Cally, Ellen and Roy.

Any special mentions to friends or family back in Cork?

I was home in Cork recently and it was amazing to be back spending time with my family.

One of the memories that I always treasure from when I come home is going up to my nan’s for a cup of tea so a big shout-out to her.

Another special shout out to my goddaughter Lucy and nephew Tommy.