If you’ve recently moved back to Ireland from overseas, what has the experience been like for you? Has it been a dream come true, or have you faced surprising difficulties? If you're still abroad and thinking about moving home, what would you like to ask those who have already come back?
Irish Times Abroad is hosting an evening of discussion about the highs and lows of returning to live in Ireland in The Irish Times building on Tara Street on Thursday June 22nd, from 6.30-8.30pm.
Ciara Kenny will chair a talk with a panel of recently returned emigrants, with guest speakers including author Sarah Maria Griffin and Irish Times Abroad contributor James Parnell. The evening will conclude with a lively audience Q&A.
Tickets for the event are sold out, but readers in Ireland and overseas can watch the discussion live on the Irish Times Abroad Facebook page from 7pm Irish time.
Did you know that the Irish Times Abroad Network is not just for the Irish currently living overseas, but also for returned emigrants, or anyone with an interest in emigration? You can find out more about it and join (for free) at irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/join-us
About the speakers
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Sarah Maria Griffin moved back to Dublin from San Francisco in 2015. She writes about monsters, growing up, and everything those two things have in common. Following an article for Generation Emigration in The Irish Times, she got a book deal for a non-fiction book, Not Lost: One Young Irishwoman's Emigrant Story, published in 2013. Her debut novel, Spare and Found Parts, will be on sale in Ireland in 2018.
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James Parnell moved home with his wife and three children in 2016, after 16 years in Sydney. The management consultant and life coach is now forging a new life working for himself in Dublin, as founder of the WellBeingGym. He writes for Irish Times Abroad about his experiences of returning, and his advice for others, and blogs at james-parnell.com.