‘I seem to spend a lot of time exchanging apologies with friends these days’
This bizarre dance of calendars appears to be the language of modern friendship
Dublin and London changed me in different ways. Australia has shown me things I considered impossible, are possible
Each place we live in marks us indelibly. Dublin made me braver, London gave me significantly more notions. I often consider how Australia may have changed me
Laura Kennedy: The Irish immigrant makes two grim discoveries on their first winter in Australia
Laura Kennedy: Australian homes are constructed neither for summer nor winter, but rather accommodate a spirit of personal toughness in the face of a vast, capricious and indomitable natural landscape
Read the headlines and wonder if everyone is on Ozempic and has ADHD? It’s all a bit overwhelming
Unthinkable: If you’re feeling overwhelmed and longing for real meaning, Viktor Frankl may be able to help. And if not, Albert Camus might have the answer
As an Irish person in Australia there is one question I’m always asked
Laura Kennedy: Most people stay vaguely where they originate unless there’s a powerful external reason to leave
We used to vilify unwed mothers. Now we criticise women who don’t want to be mothers
Declining birth rates are a material problem, but not everyone is suited to parenthood - and it’s better for all when they choose to live childfree
Irish people are talented at many things. But we have our shortcomings too
I’ve seen more than one man red as a beet in a GAA jersey, his boiled forehead audibly sizzling under the Australian sun
Emigration: ‘From a distance, I have relearned how to be Irish’
I now see that home is not always a fixed idea you inherit, but one you must participate in creating
I have become a person who goes to the gym three times a week. Maybe because I can stop working without guilt at 6pm
It might primarily be a change of location, but moving forces you to re-evaluate the entire landscape of your life
As a former beauty editor, the obsession with celebrities’ cosmetic enhancements makes me sad
Unthinkable: With radical advancements in aesthetic procedures in the last five years, looking ‘done’ is now a hallmark of low status. Invisible work is the new ideal
Yes, smartphone addiction is unhealthy – but so is getting a dumb phone and pretending it’s 2003
Going cold turkey creates as many problems as it solves. Plus, it’s not going to work
This homesickness is not a yearning for return but rather for reconnection
It has only been six months since my return to Australia and yet here the feeling is
I’m a bad ambassador for Ireland, but it’s part of the package when you emigrate
As an Irish person in Australia, you are handed a minor unofficial diplomatic role. I do it gracelessly
Micheál Martin chuckling about the lack of housing was a stark reminder of Ireland’s identity crisis
We sometimes seem to be clutching Irish identity in a pinched fist. We struggle to reconcile our long history of migration with a generation locked out of Ireland over housing and growing unease about immigration
Autumn in Australia: I wonder if you ever get used to it?
I’m forever disappointing people at home with the news that Australia’s capital does have seasons