Foreword

It has been such a beautifully rewarding experience working on this project with Design students from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. We are delighted to have the opportunity to capture the valuable stories of members of our JALOS ( just a little older) Group. Documenting people’s life stories is key to the recognition, appreciation and care of our seniors. Throughout this project, some fascinating stories have arisen and it’s been a privilege to listen to the tales and travels of senior members of the Irish community in Brisbane. A recurring comment in each story is the heavy heat and humidity of Australia that struck people as they arrived off the plane. As someone who also cites this as their first memory of arriving in this country over a decade ago, it goes to show that some things never change! Even though we’ve named this project Dhá Theach meaning Two Homes as Gaeilge, what struck me the most about this project is that so many of our participants who have lived abroad for decades cited Ireland as their home. It shows that no matter how far away, or how long you’ve been gone that Ireland never leaves you. No country in Europe has been as affected by emigration over the last two centuries as Ireland.

Approximately ten million people have emigrated from the island Ireland since 1800, which is extraordinary given our current population is five million people.

John F. Kennedy on his presidential visit to Ireland in June 1963 said that, “Most countries send out oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has had only one export and that is its people.” Emigration became an intrinsic part of Irish life before gaining independence, especially from the Famine onwards. It appears that emigration is built into the fabric of Irish peoplewe’re designed to leave.

One of most fascinating aspects of Irish emigration, is our ability to retain our culture and heritage no matter where we go in the world. Many of the participants in this project spoke about Irish dancing and Irish music as a connection to home. In Ireland’s rich tradition of music and song, emigration is one of the big themes. A large body of material exists, in both the English and Irish languages. These songs are sung far and wide around the world. Even with the current cohort of Irish expats in Brisbane, music plays a big role, with members of our community commenting on being ‘transported back to Ireland’ upon hearing specific Irish songs. Never did this ring truer than when the Australian international borders were closed and we were unable to return home. It appears that the Irish culture is strong enough to withstand great geographical distances – it flourishes abroad.

Foreword

Interestingly in Irish music when conveying the large melodies of emigration, a variety of themes are evoked - the beauty of the home, place, nostalgia, loss, the pain of departure and exile. These are all common challenges that the modern day emigrant experiences. However, our Seniors tended to speak about their new lives in Australia with respect and gratitude. Moving to Australia is seen as an opportunity and a better life.

A humbling outcome of this project was the appreciation of connection to Ireland through technology for the younger generations. Our participants spoke about potentially never seeing their families again after they moved to Australia. Facetime, Skype and social media have ensured that this will never happen us and given us a gratitude for being able to speak to our loved ones at home with ease.

We have kept the interviews with our six participants authentic. Irish people speak in what is known as Hiberno-English, or Irish English, and this is the form of the English language used in Ireland. Hiberno-English is subject to regional variation, especially between the North and South of Ireland. Hiberno-English’s grammatical structures and vocabulary are unique, with many influences deriving from Gaeilge. Many Irish words are used directly, for example you’ll notice our participants speaking out the ‘craic.’

We are grateful to every single person who contributed to this very meaningful project. A special honour and thank you to our participants, Cess and Carmel, Pat, Grace, Noel and Cabrina.

Your honesty and willingness to share your stories are very much appreciated. Thank you to our volunteers Mary, Jennifer, Siobhan and Keiran for capturing these important conversations. Thank you to the incredibly talented, creative students of the Queensland College of Art for choosing to work with our organisation and their teachers Rae and Jan for their advice and direction.

It’s the people that make IASAQ special; our members, our staff, our volunteers, the Board, and most importantly the people we assist and the community that supports us. It’s about coming together as individuals, working in collaboration and upholding the values that this organisation stands for. Those being respect, compassion and a belief that all people should be giving support when they’re at their most vulnerable.

We hope you enjoy reading this wonderful publication as much as we enjoyed working on it.

Is mise le meas,

Nicola Holly

Uachtarán/President Irish Australian Support Association of Queensland

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