Meg LaGrande has always had a passion for traditional music, but moving to Ireland has allowed her to live the kind of life of which she has always dreamed.
“I realised that I could have my dream life, which was a creative career in the arts. I saw the vibrant, artistic culture in Galway,” LaGrande says.
“That’s the main difference in Ireland. There’s a celebration of culture through song and storytelling and the arts that doesn’t exist in the same way in Canada.”
Originally from Ottawa, Canada, LaGrande first came to Ireland during her second-last year of university on an Erasmus student exchange programme. She attended the University of Galway, choosing it because she wanted to play traditional music.
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“I’m a fiddle player by trade. In Canada, I had learned Canadian-style fiddle music but it was like… it was the deep love of storytelling, folk music and trad that exists in the Irish culture that brought me to do my Erasmus here,” she says.
During her year in Galway she met a friend who had just finished a tour with a Celtic touring show. The company had a live band, so she sent them her press kit. LaGrande returned to Canada to finish her final year of university, before then being hired for a world tour through the same company.
“I went to Japan and I toured with this Irish production. Eventually, I emigrated to Ireland because all my work was here through these shows,” LaGrande says.
Life was great in Canada, she says, and Ottawa is a “beautiful city”, but LaGrande says there were far more opportunities to pursue her passion in Ireland.
“I understand there’s been a mass exodus of Irish people for generations, but I’ve gone the other way because Ireland is where the opportunity was for me to have a sustainable, creative career.”
Here’s the thing, Irish people will be your best friend on a night out but then they will not follow up with you
The 32-year-old began doing tours with the National Dance Company of Ireland but then decided she wanted to do more creative work and start collaborating with bands.
“I started dedicating my time to the festival circuit, getting to know bands, and when I left the Celtic show world, I had no job, I had no contacts outside of that, so I just started busking on Grafton Street [in Dublin]. That’s when everything happened for me,” LaGrande says.
“I made my full-time living busking on Grafton Street. I got my name out there, I do a loop pedal show with my fiddle. Jay [Boland] from the band Kodaline walked by and hired me to play on the Late Late Show with them.”
As a result of that graft, LaGrande says, she has performed with Kodaline, Mundy and Hozier. She is releasing her own music in the near future and is collaborating with Irish artists over the Irish festival circuit. LaGrande is also hoping to set up her own agency, as she now receives more bookings than she is able to fulfill.
The Canadian feels very passionately about nurturing the talent on Grafton Street, describing it as a “pipeline” to the Irish music scene.
“This is why Ireland is so important. It must be protected tooth and nail. I’ve seen what happens when cities become gentrified, when cities do not prioritise keeping artists in work, and when they prioritise condo (condominium) buildings instead of live music venues,” LaGrande adds.
Having lived in Ireland for about seven years now, LaGrande says assimilating into the community was relatively easy for her.
“Here’s the thing, Irish people will be your best friend on a night out but then they will not follow up with you. They will not be your friend in the daylight. They’re ghosters, they’re all Caspers, or Houdinis and just disappear,” she laughs.
“I had the advantage of playing trad. Because I had the trad they couldn’t ghost me, I knew where they’d be every week. I just kept coming. I’ve had a really easy time integrating.”
There are quite a number of differences between Ireland and Canada, but the weather sticks out the most to LaGrande.
I actually grieve when I’m away from Ireland for too long. It’s such a good life here
“In winter, in Canada, it’s like minus 40 degrees celsius, and then we have +40 degrees celsius in the summer. I know it sounds crazy, but in Ireland I feel the cold in my bones here. It’s a damp cold. Whereas Canada has a dry cold and then it gets super hot,” she adds.
While both countries have a significant amount of greenery, LaGrande says it’s a “different kind of green”.
“I don’t think anywhere in the world, except maybe New Zealand, has that kind of rolling green hills in the way Ireland does. In Canada, we have sprawling forests. I lived right on the cusp of Gatineau Park. I used to snowboard there as a teenager so I did have access to this wild wilderness,” she says.
“I now live in Clare and in addition to having trad here, there are echoes of this wild on my doorstep. That was a beautiful thing about Ottawa, you had the capital city but then 20 or 30 minutes drive you are out in a wild, nature park.”
Though the distance between the country in which she grew up and the place she now calls home is vast, it’s made easier by the contentment she has found here
“My heart is in two places but if I’m in Canada for more than a week, I get this aching, dull pain in my chest. I actually grieve when I’m away from Ireland for too long. It’s such a good life here,” LaGrande says.
“I miss them (her family), but my quality of life is just so good here. The Irish are so friendly. And what I do for a living is so sociable so I have such a vibrant community. My life is so full here. So yes, I miss my family, but I love life here.”
We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish
