Irish Influx

Thousands of Irish are flocking to New Zealand shores for a “less hectic” yet familiar way of life, though a simultaneously exotic one too. In the past 10 years almost 30,000 Irish people have received permission to work in New Zealand. She may be over 18,000km from where she was born, but Lillian Dowd, 32, seems very much at home. It’s a balmy February’s day in the heart of New Zealand’s second-biggest city, Christchurch. With Ireland’s economic collapse, New Zealand is proving an increasingly popular destination. “So many people have gone to Australia, so I decided I’d do something different,” Dowd says. Irish Honorary Consul General Rodney Walshe says New Zealand is going to continue to see the Irish exodus. “There is a national affinity between Ireland and New Zealand. Eighteen per cent of the population here are of Irish descent. New Zealand is the Ireland of the south Pacific, but with a slightly better climate.”