BALANCING ACT

Taking a leap

I moved to Vancouver in 2016. I was working for News UK in London and was getting tired of the big city life and the Tube. I had Irish contacts in Vancouver who were telling me how great it was and they suggested I come out, which at first, I laughed at, because Vancouver wasn’t on my radar. I came over for a holiday and fell in love with the place because of the mixture of city life and nature, with mountains and beaches within reach. A friend brought me to Whistler. I’d never skied a day in my life but I remember seeing people ski down that mountain and thinking, I’m going to move here and learn how to ski. That’s what sealed the deal. Within four months, I went back to London, got my visa, applied for a job, got the job, and moved. It all happened very quickly. I was terrible at skiing at first – I could barely get down the mountain. Learning to ski at the age of 35 was a pretty scary experience. But, I’m better now and it’s become one of my passions. I’m due to get my Canadian citizenship and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon. This feels like home now.

Finding a community

There’s a huge Irish community here and they’re all keen to help people because they’ve been through it. There are lots of groups and events through the ‘IrelandCanada Chamber of Commerce’. Ruairi Spillane, who’s an entrepreneur, runs the website Moving2Canada.com and does a lot to connect Irish people. I’ve also reconnected with old Irish friends after discovering they’re also now living here. The Canadians and Irish tend to mix very well. What’s lovely for me was that I had my Irish contacts when I moved here, and then made Canadian friends and they’ve since all come together and bonded. So, it’s this lovely mishmash of cultures.

Exploring British Columbia

There’s lots to see and do in Vancouver but there’s so much more to explore in the greater BC area. Tofino on Vancouver Island is very similar to the west coast of Ireland in that it’s very rugged but very beautiful. There’s also the Okanagan, which is the wine country here in the Interior of BC, which is spectacular in summer. And then Whistler is a no-brainer. Even if you don’t ski – it’s quite picturesque in the summer.

Adopting other pastimes

I’m getting a lot of flak from my friends at the moment because I’ve taken up tap dancing at the age of 41. All my Canadian friends are saying, “Really? An Irishman taking up tap dancing? Is that not the biggest stereotype ever?” I was obsessed with Riverdance when I was a kid, and my grandmother brought me to see it. It’s always stuck with me.

Challenges along the way I didn’t struggle with the move because I’d already moved to London and travelled around the world for a year, so I was used to not being in Ireland. What I wasn’t used to was the amount of rules they have in Canada, particularly in BC. Coming from Ireland, where the attitude is very much, “Sure it’ll be grand”, I really struggled with those rules at first; it felt very strict. Now, I love them because I’m at a stage in my life where I really appreciate that structure. Things work efficiently. The other thing I found difficult was the permanent residency application. That would be my greatest advice to people who are coming here and intend to stay: as soon as you get here on your working holiday visa, apply for your permanent residency because it takes a long time – up to two years –and there’s a lot that goes into it. They really want to know the history of your entire life, right down to every trip you took outside of your home country. So it’s worth getting on that straightaway.

Bringing quality content to curious minds worldwide

I work at PressReader Limited, a group of tech companies that build technology solutions to help people discover trusted content and quality journalism while empowering publishers to connect with global audiences. Our flagship product, PressReader, is the largest all-youcan-read platform for thousands of newspapers and magazines, including publications like The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Vogue and Vanity Fair, among others. Users can access PressReader content online or through the app and subscribe for unlimited access. However, what really differentiates PressReader from most other platforms is our unique approach to providing sponsored access to the platform through our business partnerships. If you’re flying with a certain airline, like Aer Lingus or Air Canada, or staying with a certain hotel group, visiting a certain library or even on a cruise ship, you can access thousands of publications in more than 70 languages from over 120 countries through PressReader, at no cost, because the business is paying for your access. This way, publishers gain access to audiences they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach, while users get a great value-add to their trip, wherever they are in the world.

As the leader of PressReader’s Content Group, I oversee the management of our content partnerships worldwide, connecting publishers and content providers with the best tech solutions. We have offices in Canada, Ireland, the United States and the Philippines with more representatives based across the globe. That’s what I love most about the job – the exposure to diverse cultures in terms of the people we’re working with both internally and externally in the market. Interestingly, our CEO Ruairí Doyle, who took on the role in 2022, is also Irish and based in Vancouver. Great to have another Irish man at the helm!

Getting home

I’m lucky that I do a lot of business travel, so I’m back and forth to Dublin and London quite a lot and get to come home around twice a year to catch up with friends and family, which is nice because I haven’t dealt with the homesickness I’ve seen other people go through. One of the first things I do when I’m in Dublin is head to Grogan’s for a pint of Guinness – I love that pub – after I see my parents, of course, because my mum would kill me if I ran off too quickly.

Flying the flag

Being an Irish person working in London and Vancouver and travelling to a lot of places, I haven’t had a single negative reaction. Usually, when people find out you’re Irish, it’s a really warm response. Irish people have this very friendly nature that I don’t think we really think about or appreciate when we’re in Ireland but, when you’re living abroad and looking at the differences in cultures, you realise just how outgoing we are. I think that really stands to us because it breaks down barriers. One thing I notice when I go home is, as soon as you get off that plane in Dublin, people want to talk to you for no reason. I love that. When you’re friendly, curious and want to get to know people, that opens doors. And, that’s very much the Irish way.

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