GOOD
Migrations
London has long been a draw for Irish emigrants. And while its streets are not always paved with gold, the British capital has nonetheless created a fantastic platform for this young diaspora. WORDS CILLIAN O’CONNOR PHOTOGRAPHS STEVE RYAN
hen a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” English writer Samuel Johnson might have coined his well-worn ode to London and all it has to offer back in 1777, but it still rings true for an entire generation of Irish expats today. Despite rising rents, increasing living costs and a changed political climate after last year’s Brexit referendum, the Irish continue to arrive in London in their droves. In fact, recent statistics suggest that a quarter of all Irish emigrants come to Britain, with many of them staying in the capital.
"W
“There’s no getting around the fact that the result of the Brexit referendum was sorely disappointing, but living in London still offers me both personal and professional opportunities that I couldn’t find at home,” says Anna Kealey, who first left Dublin for New York, then in 2014 decamped to London where she now works in new market development for online marketplace Etsy. She’s just one of many Irish men and women who’ve taken the plunge by crossing the water, leaving behind the comforts of home for the exciting prospects of pastures new. Here, we profile six expats making it big in the Big Smoke. AERLINGUS.COM |
| 45