New to the Parish

Joseph Okoh, originally from Nigeria, moved to Dublin in 2019 to study journalism. Photograph: Laura Hutton

‘I need to work twice as hard to get a job in Ireland’

New to the Parish: Joseph Okoh arrived from Nigeria in 2019

‘To get to know Irish culture and people, carer is the best job’

‘To get to know Irish culture and people, carer is the best job’

New to the Parish: Fernanda Otero arrived from Brazil in 2016 with her son, Gaudie

‘Ireland and Greece are like sister countries’

‘Ireland and Greece are like sister countries’

Ioannis Zabetakis arrived from Greece in 2015: ‘I don’t have any plans to move again’

‘People in Ireland are kind and respect us. I don’t feel like I’m a refugee’

‘People in Ireland are kind and respect us. I don’t feel like I’m a refugee’

New to the Parish: Ramadan Alhusain arrived from Syria in 2018

One Iranian musician was made an Irish citizen, so why wasn’t his brother?

One Iranian musician was made an Irish citizen, so why wasn’t his brother?

New to the Parish: Shahab Coohe arrived from Iran in 2012

‘Morocco is in my heart but Ireland is always in my mind’

New to the Parish: Mohammed Mrabat arrived from Morocco in 2003

‘As soon as I moved here I became obsessed with Irish names’

New to the Parish: Jan Hailey Reyes Coy arrived from the Philippines in 2002

‘I would like to see more people who look like me in senior positions in Ireland’

New to the Parish: Jocelino Jorge arrived from Australia in 2018

‘People in Dublin can be friendly but Cavan was so much better’

New to the Parish: Rebeca Sanchez Gallego arrived from Spain in 2015

‘I’ve been in Ireland during a real cultural shift’

New to the Parish: Tari Takavarasha arrived from London in 2017

‘I’ve learned to be more positive – I think because of the Irish attitude’

New to the Parish: Roxana Zaha arrived from Romania in 2016

‘Ireland is a really good country for Muslims’

New to the Parish: Arjumand Younus and Atif Qureshi arrived from Pakistan in 2011

‘I actually didn’t know Ireland existed. But I read about it and knew it was perfect for me’

New to the Parish: Sukrity Sharma arrived from Nepal in 2019

‘I’m trying to find where I fit here in Ireland’

New to the Parish: Joe Donovan arrived from the US in 2018 after his parents’ deaths

‘At what point is it okay for a black person to be Irish?’

New to the Parish: Linda Keitasha arrived from Uganda in 2002

‘The girls in my law course weren’t friendly. They ignored me, the only Chinese woman’

New to the Parish: Last month, Fei Liang became Ireland’s first Chinese-born barrister

‘We’ve a world that works at odd times – then I came to Ireland and everything closed at 6pm’

New to the Parish: Edi Oliveira arrived from Brazil in 2010

The trained GP who can’t work in Ireland, despite the shortage

New to the Parish: Apoorva Gopinath arrived from Bangalore in India in 2019

‘At Dublin Airport they made me wait four hours. I was ready to cry’

New to the Parish: Laura Gordy Pugliessi arrived from Bolivia in 2020

‘Moving to Ireland was the best decision I ever made’

Noli Alngohuro arrived from the Philippines in 2000

‘The HSE wasn’t ready to accept immigrant doctors as a regular part of the system’

Naveed Abbas arrived from Pakistan in 2011

‘Everybody I knew who had lived in Ireland always told me it was a great experience’

New to the Parish: Carolina Chimirri arrived from Brazil in 2019

‘Poland and Italy are wonderful, but our lives are in Cork now’

New to the Parish: Alex Thiel Didu, a jeweller, arrived from Poland in 2008

‘Once you are not lily-white or freckle-skinned, you are labelled as non-Irish’

Dr Mary Toomey, an Irish citizen for 45 years, arrived from Sri Lanka in 1967

‘I wandered around Dublin wondering: Is this what they call a capital city?’

New to the Parish: Shubhangi Karmakar arrived from India via the UK in 2015

‘I come from an explicit, brash, rude culture. Ireland is a lot more implicit’

New to the Parish: Melanie Labor arrived from Germany in 2006

‘Racism is real in Ireland. Our history does not make us immune’

6:46 New to the Parish: Law lecturer Thamil Ananthavinayagan arrived from Germany in 2013

‘Moving to Galway was the best decision of my life’

New to the Parish: Jed Gjerek and his family arrived from Croatia in 2017

Irish people ‘are interested in chatting, but the friendship doesn’t last long’

New to the Parish: Anna Surkova, who lives in Co Cork, arrived from Ukraine in 2018

‘Kildare was a shocker. The feeling was instant’

New to the Parish: Tobi Omoteso arrived from Nigeria via the UK in 1999

‘My best experiences in Ireland were with elderly people’

New to the Parish: Vitória Régia Oliveira arrived from Salvador, Brazil in 2017

‘In Australia, my Irish wife was bitten by a python on our wedding day’

New to the Parish: Conor Murphy arrived from Australia in 2001 and again in 2013

‘People loved my coronavirus masks. I felt I was contributing’

New to the Parish: Aziz Mohiuddin arrived in 2018 from Pakistan via South Africa

‘Tralee felt friendlier than Killarney. We discovered a different welcome there’

New to the Parish: Patrycja Czarnoleska O’Connor, a teacher, first arrived from Poland in 2004

‘It would be such a shame if Ireland were to lose its beautiful native tongue’

New to the Parish: Jiayi He arrived in Ireland from China (via Canada) in 2017

‘I’ve never been prouder to be part of the health system’

New to the Parish: Samer Arnous, a consultant cardiologist, arrived in Ireland at 17

‘I see so much more drinking in Ireland than I did in Italy’

New to the Parish: Vincenzo Rea was shocked by childcare costs and attitudes to alcohol

‘We cannot get sick here. It will spread.’ Norman lives with 19 others in Phibsborough

New to the Parish: Norman Ayala arrived in Ireland from Honduras in 2020

‘I will never 100 per cent belong in Ireland’

New to the Parish: Teresa Buczkowska arrived in Ireland from Cracow in 2005

‘Watching my children grow from Ireland has been really tough’

New to the Parish: Irene Jagoba, a carer, hasn’t seen her son and daughter for 12 years

‘It’s amazing to be part of this response. Irish people complain a lot, but they unite in a crisis’

New to the Parish: Lora Ruth Wogu is proud to work at St Vincent’s but fears for her disabled son

‘I feel like I’m always new in Ireland. Every good friend has moved away’

New to the Parish: Juliana Vasconcelos, a bridge design engineer, arrived from Brazil in 2015

‘I couldn’t get a job in Ireland. Was it because I’m a different race?’

New to the Parish: Glorence Makharinge moved to Ireland from South Africa in 2017

‘Doctors can’t explain how I got pregnant. I didn’t have periods. I didn’t ovulate’

New to the Parish: Lavinia Puicar was told as a teenager she could never have children

‘It felt like life was finished, that everything was going downhill’

New to the Parish: Papy Kahova Kasongo arrived from Democratic Republic of Congo in 2015

‘We grew up in Brazil. Now our son speaks to me in Irish’

Tarsila Kruse sold everything she had in Brazil, packed a bag and flew to Ireland in 2007

‘Sick of living in a small-minded, Catholic country, I moved to Ireland’

New to the Parish: Federico Julián González arrived from El Salvador in 1998

‘Black Americans and Irish have a lot in common. I feel we’re connected’

‘I feel alive here,’ says Kimberly Reyes who arrived from the US in 2019 to study in Cork

‘I’d like to start my own business in Ireland, but not by the back door’

Godfrey Jeremiah arrived from Nigeria in 2018. ‘It was that period of heavy snow’

‘In Ireland, if you’re not rich but work hard you can get a job easily’

New to the Parish: Penny Pu arrived from the city of Dalian, in northeast China, in 2000

‘The Irish remind me of Afrikaans people. They’re quite reserved’

New to the Parish: Liezl-Maret Livingstone, a pianist, arrived from South Africa in 2019

‘In Ballyhaunis there were Arab people all around me’

New to the Parish: ‘People think refugees will take their resources,’ says Ghada Feddawi

‘In Ireland I’ve found another form of persecution’

New to the Parish: Athmane and Nora Yachir arrived from Algeria in 2014

‘It doesn’t matter if I’m in a wheelchair. I’m not angry with Ireland for what happened’

New to the Parish: Paulo Cassis Peres arrived from Brazil in 2017

‘I felt incredibly lost’ in Dublin after leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

New to the Parish: Kamila Dydyna arrived from Poland in 2007

‘I’m not asking for money. I just want to work. I think I deserve an opportunity’

New to the Parish: Ariana Loyo arrived from Venezuela in 2013

Rearing snails in Ireland: ‘We were surrounded by them. They shared our bedroom’

New to the Parish: Eva Milka came to Ireland from Poland in 2005 and ended up starting her own snail farming business

‘I adore the way people speak English in Ireland. The language is amazing’

New to the Parish: Polina Cosgrave came to Ireland from Moscow in 2015

An Asian woman in Ireland: Some people assume I’m a ‘Thai bride’

New to the Parish: Bhisasha Chayangpath came to Dublin from Bangkok, Thailand, in 2018

'We arrived here with just two suitcases. We were starting again from zero'

New to the Parish: Anabella Parisi arrived from Argentina in 2015

'It's hard to be black in Ireland. When you're a kid, you want to fit in'

Alima Doumbouya arrived from France in 2007

Life in Venezuela: I always said a prayer before leaving the office ‘take care of me’

Carlos Alexander Montilla arrived from Venezuela in 2011 and again in 2014

The Choctaws learned that Ireland was going through a Famine - ‘it spoke to them’

New to the Parish: Chayla Rowley arrived from the United States in 2019

Being a black family in Ballyfermot: ‘There was no hostility’

Although Ireland was welcoming, finding employment was difficult for Somali science teacher Abdullah Hersi, who arrived in Ireland in 1991

‘In Ireland people saw my potential even if they knew little about me’

New to the Parish: Patrycja Jurkowska arrived from Poland in 2004 and again in 2005

‘Didn’t the Irish migrate to America? People need to look at it from this perspective’

New to the Parish: Imam Rabeeb Mirza and Ayesha Hasmin Mirza arrived from the UK

‘I’ve been made to feel like I don’t belong in Ireland’

New to the Parish: Daniel Pereira first arrived from Brazil in 2005 one week before his 16th birthday

In Ireland you are not invited to someone's house. It can feel superficial

New to the Parish: Immanuel Darkwa arrived from Germany in 2007

‘I had read about Ireland and knew they respected human rights’

New to the Parish: Nasir ElSafi, an artist and journalist, arrived from Sudan in 2017

‘Dublin is my soul city and Irish people are the funniest people in the world’

Erin McGathy arrived from Los Angeles in 2016

‘Women have freedom here in Ireland. They are not judged by their clothes’

New to the Parish: Suad Aldarra and Housam Ziad arrived from Syria, via Egypt, in 2014

‘I didn’t believe in abortion or gay rights until I moved to Dublin’

New to the Parish: Mo Nader arrived from Egypt, via Bristol, in 2014

‘My son wants to leave Ireland for good. He’s not comfortable with what’s going on here’

Oghenetano John Uwhumiakpor, who arrived from Nigeria, via Finland, in 2006, says Irish-born black teenagers are ‘suffering an identity crisis’

‘We need to think of refugees as people who have a lot of potential’

New to the parish: Afshin Samali arrived from Iran, via Pakistan, in 1985

‘I thought I’d take Dublin by storm when I arrived. It didn’t work out that way’

New to the Parish: Rachel Waite arrived from the US in 2011

‘Irish people often think we are bad but we are good and friendly’

New to the Parish: Persida Caldaras arrived from France in 2002

‘The wait for papers is stressful. I couldn’t work. My life had to stop’

New to the Parish: Mandla Ncube arrived from Zimbabwe in 2016

‘I moved from Australia to be a nurse in Ireland. People are always asking why’

Peta Guthridge arrived from Australia in 2015

‘Irish racists believe Ireland should be pure. They know what they are doing’

New to the Parish: Dagogo Hart arrived from Nigeria in 2010

'My graduation day was a big day for mum, it felt like she was becoming a doctor’

‘For the past five years they have been sacrificing for me but now I can pay them back’

‘When I came to Ireland, I suddenly realised maybe I was gay’

Carlos Gonzalez, from Venezuela, feels he can be 100% himself in Ireland

‘In Dublin the roads were clean, and the air breathable, but I still missed India’

New to the Parish: Sugandha Arora arrived from India in 2017

‘I was really shocked at the homelessness and drug use in Dublin’

New to the Parish: Alex Dalkin originally arrived from Australia in 2016

‘Living in Dublin on about €13,000 a year is not easy. But we were good at saving’

New to the Parish: Ricardo Filho arrived from Brazil in 2013 and again in 2016

‘I’ve been working since I was 19. I’m not used to receiving handouts’

New to the Parish: Cristhian Nuñez Centeno arrived from Nicaragua in 2018

‘My issue was I could not tolerate the male dominance’

New to the Parish: Hina Khan arrived from Pakistan in 2015

‘My stammer made me very depressed. Children laughed and teachers hit me with sticks’

New to the Parish: Waheed Mohiuddin arrived from Pakistan in 2015

Coming to Ireland after a broken heart: ‘I needed a year to get over the pain’

New to the Parish: Emese Baranyi arrived from Hungary in 2011

‘All I knew about the Irish was that they were good drinkers’

New to the Parish: Milan Sitko arrived from Slovakia in 2006

Building a life in Ireland after spending a night in Mountjoy women's prison

New to the Parish: Juliana Scodeler has built a life here since coming from Brazil in 2007

Leaving Latvia to make a life in Cork: ‘I am the happiest person on earth’

New to the Parish: Growing up in Latvia Diana Bucko’s dream was to join the police now she lives in Cork. And loves it.

‘There’s so much negativity around direct provision but I liked it’

New to the Parish: Nqobizitha Vella arrived from Zimbabwe in 2015

‘I’ve only met one person in Ireland who didn’t like me because I was foreign’

New to the Parish: Tatjana Klemanskiene arrived from Lithuania in 2008

‘We named our first son Adam after a Dublin hair salon. They were like family to us’

New to the Parish: Lisa Miao and Yi (Johnny) Zheng arrived from China in 2001

‘I feel Irish now. If I went back to Syria they would make me join the army’

New to the Parish: Salim Yattem arrived from Syria in 2015

‘I’m grateful that I didn’t understand racism as a child’

New to the Parish: Felicia Olusanya (Felispeaks) arrived from Nigeria via France in 2003

‘I hadn’t been in real school until I came to Ireland. It’s nice being normal’

New to the Parish: Ismail Ahmed arrived from Sudan, via Libya and France, in 2017

'I feel much safer in Kerry than I would be in Poland'

New to the Parish: Kasia Gwis arrived from Poland in 2006

Ireland’s visa delays: ‘We wouldn’t have come here if we knew’

New to the Parish: Charissa Jaganath arrived from South Africa in 2018

‘Cork is a very rebellious city. Going there was the best thing I ever did’

New to the Parish: Alexandra Soares arrived from Brazil, via Germany, in 2015

‘We have never been refused help in Ireland’

New to the Parish: Zsuzsanna Rékai from Hungary says Ireland will always be home

‘I came to Ireland from Nepal and got reverse altitude sickness’

Dipa Rai, who arrived in Ireland in 2015, finds Irish mountains ‘flat but tough’

‘In Kerry they’ve strong accents. I thought they were speaking Irish, not English’

New To The Parish: Nasir Yasin arrived from Somalia in 2005

‘I was weak and lost all my hair. My one wish was to see my daughter before I died’

New to the Parish: Ghaythaa Abdualdahab arrived in Ireland from Syria, via Greece, in 2018

Forced marriage: ‘That man had more rights over my body than I did’

New to the Parish: Dalal Alshohaib arrived from Saudi Arabia in 2015

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