Written for SA2Eire by a Member
From Joburg at 38 Degrees to Cork at 5: Our Permanent Move to Ireland
After visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Bandon, Co Cork for a month at the end of 2018, we were sold. Belinda and I made a vow on the flight back to South Africa that we would never say goodbye to Ireland again. Next time would be permanent.
And so our journey began. At first with quite a bit of procrastinating, if I’m honest. The wake-up call, sadly, came when my best friend and his partner were home invaded by four panga-wielding thugs while living on a smallholding outside PE. Fortunately neither of them was physically harmed, though they were deeply traumatised. The thugs had their idea of sadistic fun. The less said about that the better.
It was then that the realisation hit me. The “what if” started playing on my mind. How would I, at 55, be able to protect Belinda against three, four or more home invaders? This all happened around August and September 2019, and from that point things moved quickly.
The house sold faster than expected. A date was set for me to fly out ahead of Belinda on the 16th of February 2020. She would follow after Easter, when our furries would also be able to make the move.
It was around this time that I stumbled across the SA2EIRE group on Facebook, which led to me becoming a full member on the website. To say this was not a godsend would be a total lie. An enormous amount of time, stress and confusion was saved by reading and researching on those forums. Most avenues were covered, with an admin team always willing to advise or point us in the right direction.
Things started falling into place. Before I flew out we secured pet-friendly accommodation on a farm outside Macroom. Friends of our daughter lived there and would be moving out just before we arrived.
I landed at Dublin Airport on the 17th of February 2020, arriving from a 38 degree Joburg the day before into a wet 5 degrees. Much preferred, nonetheless. I spent the first few days in beautiful Greystones with my sister before moving on to Rebel Country, Bandon, Co Cork.
I sorted out a SIM card, bought a car and after a great deal of stress eventually found insurance through Kennco, in my opinion the most Saffa-friendly insurance company of the lot. I got my PPS number, registered with MyGov and opened an Irish bank account with AIB. I also opened a Revolut account which has been very useful for sending money back to South Africa. On the 21st of February I received the keys to our furnished, pet-friendly home.
By then the rumblings of a strange new virus were picking up momentum. I was applying for work all over Co Cork and attended one interview. But in true Irish form, my real opportunity came while sitting in what has become my local pub. The owner of the local pallet factory popped in briefly, and the locals wasted no time telling him that a South African electrician had recently arrived and was looking for work. A few days later I received a message, hand-delivered to our home by the publican himself, asking me to contact the factory maintenance manager. I had an interview on my birthday, and started in the maintenance department the following Monday. The day before St Patrick’s Day.
Now, St Patrick’s Day was one celebration I had truly been looking forward to. I wanted to mark it properly with the locals. That was not to be, and it was beginning to look very much like the following year would be the same.
Rumours of lockdowns in both Ireland and South Africa were growing loud. With the backing of my new employers I decided to fly to South Africa to fetch Belinda. Taking off from Dublin on the 22nd of March 2020 via Emirates, I spent 72 hours in either an airplane or an airport. A lot can happen in 72 hours.
All flights from Dubai to Dublin were cancelled until further notice. Then President Cyril announced that at midnight on the 26th of March all borders, including airports, would be closing. My heart, my stress levels and my sense of humour all took a pounding, to be sure, to be sure.
Thank goodness for modern technology. Using the airport WiFi, I booked Belinda onto a flight from PE to Joburg without her knowing. Imagine waking up at 4:30 in the morning to a WhatsApp message telling you to be at the airport by 9:30. That was her morning. She needed to get to Joburg so we could try and secure a flight back to Ireland, which was not a certainty either.
Flying over Somalia, and with the help of our daughter in Bandon, we managed to secure two seats on KLM, the last flight out on the 23rd of March. The reunion at OR Tambo when I finally got off the Emirates flight was emotional.
The flight back via Amsterdam was wonderful, and crossing the border at Dublin Airport was an anticlimax to say the least. The immigration officer barely glanced at my very carefully prepared file of documents for Belinda. It was just a stamp in her passport and a “make sure you report to immigration within 90 days, welcome to Ireland.” But walking through arrivals and meeting our daughter and son-in-law brought a tear to the eye. We arrived on our 30th wedding anniversary. Our Irish journey had truly begun.
Since then we have settled in beautifully. Belinda is working as a carer in Cork and enjoying it immensely. The furries arrived in July and have also settled perfectly. We have since added an Irish cat to the team. What a character.
Do we miss South Africa, our friends, our family still there, the good times? Of course we do. But we have yet to feel homesick. The security, the warmth of the Irish people and Ireland herself far outweigh everything we left behind. We have absolutely no regrets.
Thank you SA2EIRE for all your input and help, and thank you in advance for the assistance still to come.
Most importantly, thank you Ireland.
From Rebel Country, Sláinte!
See you at the local.
