Corkonians Abroad: I went backpacking 14 years ago, and stayed

So Emily, tell us about your roots...

I am from Carrigaline and I grew up there. My mother Marguerite is originally from Churchfield and my father George is from Farranree.

Most people in Cork would know me as Emily Murphy but I have since become Nolan.

Growing up in Carrigaline was great and I have friends I am still in contact with to this day. I went to Carrigaline Community School and was involved in the Cork basketball scene for as long as I can remember. I went to The Cork Institute of Technology (think that might be called something different now, showing my age) and studied Recreation and Leisure.

How did you end up in Australia?

With no real career aspirations or commitments at the age of 22, I left Cork with three of my friends with the intention of going to Australia backpacking for a year. At that time I never would have thought I would still be here nearly 14 years later.

It was a steep learning curve as I never lived out of home and couldn’t boil an egg, and was now moving to the other side of the world.

I had lots of friends from Carrigaline already living in Sydney that were encouraging me to join them once I finished college as “I wouldn’t regret it”.

While studying, I worked two jobs to save for the trip. I was working in a petrol station in Carrigaline and I was a basketball referee all around Cork. Basketball was a huge part of my life in Cork and during my time in Sydney I developed a mixed social basketball team for Irish people to participate in. The team at different stages included individuals from all over Ireland and it was great for connections abroad. We were called the Inglorious Ballers and the Australian teams were always shocked by the talent and our competitiveness.

Where do you currently live?

I spent 10 years in Sydney and shortly after I arrived, I met the man of my dreams, Denis, the only downfall was he was from Kerry.

Eventually, I had to break that news to my father, who replied: “You went all the way to Australia to meet a Kerry man?”

My parents have now put the football rivalry aside and warmed to him, regardless of him being from The Kingdom.

After our time in Sydney, we moved with our two dogs, Bear and Teddy, to a rural place in New South Wales called Dubbo. We spent three years there, eloped to get married, and had our beautiful son called Shea in 2022.

In May this year, we bought a house in Perth and relocated to Western Australia to be closer to family. Fortunately for us, I only have one sibling that lives five minutes away from us with his partner in Perth.

I count myself very lucky to have immediate family close by as I know this isn’t the case for most people living away from home.

Tell us a bit about the culture of where

you live?

Culturally, the Australian banter just isn’t the same in comparison to Ireland. It’s really refreshing to spend time with a group of Irish people and have the craic. Aussies can be pretty dry and half don’t actually think you’re speaking English and you might need to repeat yourself a million times. One Aussie actually said to me “your English is very good”, I replied ‘Well, I hope so because it’s the only language I speak”. They tend to be a little ignorant that nothing else exists outside Australia.

Another culture shock is Christmas in Australia. Santa on the beach in surfing shorts and sunglasses still seems so strange and is something we will never get used to. 

Santa would never survive outside in the Australian heat with his fur jacket that he needs to wear in Ireland.

Tell us about your work career?

I am a paediatric physiotherapist and went back to study as a mature student during my time in Sydney. It was a big commitment going back to study and I worked as a traffic controller which was great money, allowing me to fund my studies. Construction is huge in Australia and lots of Irish girls traffic control. It’s also a great way to meet others abroad and I have met friends for life standing on the side of the road directing traffic.

I used to work 12-hour shifts Saturdays and Sundays and study during the week. I believe this opportunity was something I would have never achieved in Ireland.

I now love my job and work for the Child Development Service for Western Australia Health. I work with lots of diverse kids and families, and with Perth being heavily populated with Irish, I get to meet a good few Irish families as well. Shea is also having to earn his keep going to work with daddy the odd day.

What has been the biggest challenge?

Living abroad has its challenges and everyone has different ones in varying parts of their time in Australia. Obviously, the most forefront for us now is the challenge of raising our own family without both our families around for support.

When we visited home last year, it was even more heartbreaking leaving our families and friends, now that we have a child. Sometimes, you think you are doing a disservice to your child for not providing them the opportunity to have a typical Irish upbringing surrounded by people that love them. Your heart is torn between two locations and there is no right or wrong choice. It’s difficult to accept that you chose one place over the other, however, we feel lucky to also have two places we now call home, and one is sunny.

Australia has opened a whole new world for us where our friends have become our family as they also truly understand the difficulties of living away from home.

Our families visit us in Australia every few years and this was one of the factors for our relocation to Perth as it cuts five hours off the flying time to Australia rather than Sydney.

If you were back in Cork for one day, what would be the ideal day for you?

Up early to see the family and in-laws which would include a fry with the works. Followed by a few lunchtime basketball games in the parochial hall. I always wonder if it still has the same distinct smell.

On for a hot chicken roll, but if KCs in Douglas was open, I’d endure the queue.

Back to Carrigaline to my OG friends for a few scoops. One of my favourite things to do at home is to meet friends that you may not have spoken to in months, even years, and to pick up the conversation where you left off, it’s such a special feeling.

The night would end with a half bag of chips with a batter sausage with lashings of vinegar and a club rock shandy.

Any special mentions to friends or family back in Cork?

I’d better give Janice Dupuy Duggan, at Dupuy physical therapy & sports injuries clinic, a plug for encouraging me to share my story. She’s probably the most Corkonian person I know. To all of my family and friends in Carrigaline who randomly find me in The Echo, I hope you enjoyed reading an update of the Nolans in Australia and we miss you all.

And finally, to my in-laws in Castleisland Kerry... “Up The Rebels”.