Abroad

Heatwave tips, an Irish Wimbledon finalist-turned-murderer, and Erasmus babies: Top stories from Irish Times Abroad this week

Readers living in sunnier climes have been sharing their tips for surviving a hot summer this week. Photograph: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

Ciara Kenny's face
Ciara Kenny
Thu Jul 5 2018 - 14:00

Clear blue skies, water restrictions and temperatures over 30°C are all a bit alien to us here in Ireland, but what can we learn from Irish people living in sunnier climes where hot summers are the norm? Emigrant readers shared their tips with us this week, on how to make cheap homemade air-con alternatives using a bottle of frozen water and a fan, to conserving water in the shower with an egg timer.

Once the darling of Wimbledon famous for his flamboyant style, Waterford man Vere St Leger Goold and his wife Marie were discovered with a dismembered torso in their luggage, in one of France's most grisly murders. As the everyone's favourite tennis tournament gets into full swing, Nathan Mannion from Epic, the Irish emigration museum in Dublin, recounts the story of the the Monte Carlo Trunk Murder in the latest installment of our Extraordinary Emigrants series.

"For liberal Irish people abroad, an Ireland that has recently given large majorities to referendums on LGBT and women's rights may seem increasingly attractive, compared to the uncertainties of a Brexit-convulsed Britain, or Trump-era America," writes Marc Scully, in his opinion piece asking if the abortion referendum result will prompt more "value-led" return migration (Subscriber Only).

More than a million babies have been born to couples who met on the Erasmus programme since its inception in 1987. A new exhibition in Dublin profiles some of the "Erasmus families" formed as a result of encounters on the student exchange scheme.

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From the Irish Defence Forces to protecting ships from Somali pirates, Mark McManus's career in the army and private security has taken him all over the world, from Baghdad to Madagascar.

Patrick O'Neill from Tallaght fell in love with Rio on a visit in 2002 and promised himself he would return and live there one day. He now lives just minutes from Copacabana Beach. He shares his top tips for visitors in this week's Welcome to My Place column. If you would like to share your advice for people visiting where you live, email abroad@irishtimes.com.

You'll find plenty more stories by and about the Irish diaspora this week on irishtimes.com/abroad.

To receive this digest to your inbox each week, you can join the free Irish Times Abroad Network here.Thanks for reading.