Trading the sun for some fun

The number of Australian people coming to Ireland - swapping sun, sea and surf for hail, rain and snow - has trebled in the last three years. Surely they're mad? No, they're here for the humour

The number of Australians coming to live and work in Ireland has trebled in the last three years. Are they mad? Are they masochists? Do they like being cold and miserable? Do they like rain?

Did no one tell Australians before they came to Ireland that we have no daily dose of glorious sunshine, that we don't usually stroll down for a swim after work and barbecues are usually conducted under rain umbrellas?

Yet no matter how miserable the weather gets, it seems the enthusiasm of the Australians who come to live and work here can not be dampened. The number of Aussies coming to live in Ireland has trebled in the last three years. Why?

Christine Monk, a publicist who arrived here in the middle of November five years ago, uses an interesting analogy to compare the two countries. Australia is like a very good-looking, stylish person while Ireland is like the plain one, she says with brutal honesty. "But, as you get to know them more, the looks are in the most part what it's all about, while you discover the plain one has this terrifice sense of humour, fun and a great sense of loyalty. You forget about the looks."

The two reasons Monk has remained here is that she set up her own company and she "fell madly in love with a Dubliner who is absolutely wonderful". The number of work permits issued to Australians in the last three years has shot up, according to figures from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. In 1999, just 347 Australians came to work here. The following year, the figure had more than doubled, to 768. In 2001, it rose again to 1,098. So far this year, 634 work permits have been issued to unsuspecting Australians.

It's got "nothing to do with Guinness or a yearning for Irish roots", says Vallejo Gantner, director of the Dublin Fringe Festival, who arrived here in March. The chance to head up this festival "lured me from 12,000 miles away," he says. "It was the attraction of the vibrant and dynamic culture that exists here.

"I had heard of the festival from people who worked on it. It has an excellent reputation . . . The fact that there is this fantastic job, it was an enormous opportunity to be involved in the centre of a challenging, new environment and a creative one, I would have been a fool not to try and take such an opportunity."

Alison Burns, a drama teacher from Sydney, wanted to study Irish literature. She was delighted when she discovered a Masters of Philosophy in Irish Theatre and Film at TCD. She's currently writing her dissertation on the representation of the Irish in Australian film. She plans to marry a fellow Australian, solicitor Cameron Herbert who also works here, in October. They've booked Kinnitty Castle in Co Offaly.

Having grown up in the tropics in south-east Asia, Burns did find the weather difficult to adjust to and was ready to accept that that was going to be a challenge, but the length of the days is "totally different, it's light until 10 p.m. and you can go for a walk. We're not as far south as you are as far north", she explains. "The length of the days gives you more time to do things. It's so pleasant.

"We wanted to go some place that neither of us had lived in before and we thought about England but we have a great number of friends there and it was a little bit too much in our comfort zone," she explains. "We wanted a smaller, easier place with its own culture and individuality."

"I knew the economy was good," says Herbert, "that all the money coming in from the EU made for interesting work. The culture is different. There are not that many Aussies here. There's a lot more to the culture here than in the UK. I've fully entered the pub culture. We love living in Dublin. The lifestyle here is much better than London, say, where it's a bit of a rat race. I live within walking distance of where I work, a few minutes from the city centre. The quality of life is much better."

There is a sense of heritage for Australians living here too, according to Burns. "There's definitely a common link between the two people, a shared sense of humour. It was something that took me by surprise. I'd have some Irish relations but it's very long gone, distant, it was not one of my main reasons at all. I was drawn to the very rich literature and the drama and also I was interested to see what it was like today."

Now, she says, as she learns "all sorts of thing about the links between Ireland and Australia I can see how people are so passionate about tracing their lineage. You can find out where you come from."

Shane Hodges from Melbourne is director of sales and marketing at the Westin Hotel in Dublin, which is part of the worldwide Starwood chain. Based in London, he surely had his choice from the 750 hotels in 93 countries. What made him choose Dublin? "Moving here from a professional point of view was very exciting," he says.

Lance Coburn, a classical concert pianist from Brisbane, came so that he could study with John O'Conor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. "I jumped at the opportunity," he says. Since he won the Cologne International Piano Competition in Germany last year, he's been busy.

"I feel I live in Dublin now." Although he has family at home, "I have to think about my professional status and what's best for me," he explains.

"I just feel if I'm living here as a base it's more accessible than Australia, but also I love it here. I feel the people are very warm, approachable and very giving. I just feel at home. I don't feel like a stranger." Some people are puzzled by his choice, he admits. But he lived in Moscow for a year too. "Now, I've got the happy medium".

Gearoid Kilgallen, who founded the Ireland Australia Association 21 years ago, says these young professionals are "simply reversing the trend . . . They've heard that the craic is good, they hear it's the place to be - and," he says, "Australians never mind the weather."

Recalling "all the ties of blood", he adds "large numbers of Irish have brought a sense of fun and ceol with them (to Australia). Now Australians are coming to see for themselves."

They are "returning the compliment", he believes, of all the young Irish people who have gone out.