As of mid-2025, there were over 103,000 people born in Ireland living in Australia. This figure passed the 100,000 mark in April 2025, driven by a surge in emigration from Ireland to Australia. This was a 27% increase from the previous year. The housing costs, work-life balance, and better salaries in Australia contribute to this trend, particularly for young professionals in sectors like construction and healthcare.
But Alison Murphy is bucking the trend as an Australian from Queensland who moved to Ireland in 2023, after visiting family in Co Cork.
“I thought, let’s see what life is like over here. I had a return ticket so I went home and sold everything. Then I bought a one-way ticket to get back [to Ireland]. I was looking for a new start,” she explains.
Having held many jobs throughout her life, Alison made the move during COVID-19 to retrain as a horticulturist, completing a two-year apprenticeship. While on holiday she was offered a job in Laois with Design By Nature wildflower seeds.
“I see people leaving here to go and live in Australia, looking for a better life or whatever it is they’re looking for. I wish them well, but it’s not the land of dreams it once was. Hopefully, it helps people see what’s here already – Ireland is just an amazing place and I have no plans on leaving,” she explains.
Alison got the chance to buy a small plot of land with a one-bedroom cottage on it.
“I had zero farming experience; I grew up in a very suburban area with a beach backyard in Queensland. Nothing in my childhood pointed me in the direction of living in rural Ireland on a farm,” she says.
When Alison moved to Ireland, the biggest learning curve for her was refocusing her priorities. “I moved into this house with no running water, no heating, and no electricity sometimes. That really brought home to me what is essential, what I can definitely not live without,” says Alison.
Alison made the move to Ireland in 2023 and has since started her own business.
Taking a leap
After opening for business in January 2025, Síle Farm and Nursery will soon expand production and is preparing to open an on-site farm shop in 2026. This year she has sold eggs, honey, pork and plants.
“It’s been a massive year, and it all started with three chickens out the back and a beehive in January. I put an honesty box out the front because I had too many eggs and then it just became a year of saying ‘yes’,” says Alison.
She would never have labelled herself as a food producer, but now it’s something she is getting more comfortable with.
“The farm shop really has come about because I’ve seen what happens when food resilience is lacking. And that’s my plan, I’m not here for world domination. I just want to feed this local area,” she says.
At the moment, Alison sells her products through a website called
openfoodnetwork.ie. She is passionate about allowing producers to sell straight to consumers and that’s what she wants to do with her farm shop.
A few years ago Alison didn’t even know the midlands existed in Ireland, now she sees it as an amazing place for picking up ‘world class produce’.
“People are doing some really extraordinary things in small businesses. They deserve to have customers. Being able to bring customers and farmers or producers together is what’s missing in a lot of places. The produce here is just incredible,” she says.
As we all indulge in festive food over the next week, Alison is urging people to support local produce.
“Having competition in the market is incredible and necessary, but also small producers really focus on quality, whereas mass-produced products possibly lose out on that to support a bottom line.
“I think customers really appreciate that quality – especially at Christmas time, when people are focusing on connection with family,” Alison says.
Alison celebrating Christmas back home in Australia.
Christmas traditions
Christmas is completely different for Alison in Ireland. “Here I go down to see my aunts, uncles and cousins in Cork, and we sit around the fire and bundle up. We go for a very brisk walk on St Stephen’s Day. Christmas in Australia is very different – it’s a barbecue out the back, exactly like what you have seen on Neighbours. Everybody’s wearing Hawaiian shirts and shorts,” she says with a laugh.
Most Aussies also spend Christmas day on the beach eating cold meats.
“In Australia, you have to be okay with singing about snow and jingle bells while also sweating in 40-degree heat, that’s just normal. I am happy enough in Ireland for Christmas, but I do miss mango season. In Queensland, they raffle off the first mango of the season. It’s such a big deal, and I would do anything for a nice, fresh mango,” she says.
Instagram: @silefarmandnursery
As of mid-2025, there were over 103,000 people born in Ireland living in Australia. This figure passed the 100,000 mark in April 2025, driven by a surge in emigration from Ireland to Australia. This was a 27% increase from the previous year. The housing costs, work-life balance, and better salaries in Australia contribute to this trend, particularly for young professionals in sectors like construction and healthcare.
But Alison Murphy is bucking the trend as an Australian from Queensland who moved to Ireland in 2023, after visiting family in Co Cork.
“I thought, let’s see what life is like over here. I had a return ticket so I went home and sold everything. Then I bought a one-way ticket to get back [to Ireland]. I was looking for a new start,” she explains.
Having held many jobs throughout her life, Alison made the move during COVID-19 to retrain as a horticulturist, completing a two-year apprenticeship. While on holiday she was offered a job in Laois with Design By Nature wildflower seeds.
“I see people leaving here to go and live in Australia, looking for a better life or whatever it is they’re looking for. I wish them well, but it’s not the land of dreams it once was. Hopefully, it helps people see what’s here already – Ireland is just an amazing place and I have no plans on leaving,” she explains.
Alison got the chance to buy a small plot of land with a one-bedroom cottage on it.
“I had zero farming experience; I grew up in a very suburban area with a beach backyard in Queensland. Nothing in my childhood pointed me in the direction of living in rural Ireland on a farm,” she says.
When Alison moved to Ireland, the biggest learning curve for her was refocusing her priorities. “I moved into this house with no running water, no heating, and no electricity sometimes. That really brought home to me what is essential, what I can definitely not live without,” says Alison.
Alison made the move to Ireland in 2023 and has since started her own business.
Taking a leap
After opening for business in January 2025, Síle Farm and Nursery will soon expand production and is preparing to open an on-site farm shop in 2026. This year she has sold eggs, honey, pork and plants.
“It’s been a massive year, and it all started with three chickens out the back and a beehive in January. I put an honesty box out the front because I had too many eggs and then it just became a year of saying ‘yes’,” says Alison.
She would never have labelled herself as a food producer, but now it’s something she is getting more comfortable with.
“The farm shop really has come about because I’ve seen what happens when food resilience is lacking. And that’s my plan, I’m not here for world domination. I just want to feed this local area,” she says.
At the moment, Alison sells her products through a website called
openfoodnetwork.ie. She is passionate about allowing producers to sell straight to consumers and that’s what she wants to do with her farm shop.
A few years ago Alison didn’t even know the midlands existed in Ireland, now she sees it as an amazing place for picking up ‘world class produce’.
“People are doing some really extraordinary things in small businesses. They deserve to have customers. Being able to bring customers and farmers or producers together is what’s missing in a lot of places. The produce here is just incredible,” she says.
As we all indulge in festive food over the next week, Alison is urging people to support local produce.
“Having competition in the market is incredible and necessary, but also small producers really focus on quality, whereas mass-produced products possibly lose out on that to support a bottom line.
“I think customers really appreciate that quality – especially at Christmas time, when people are focusing on connection with family,” Alison says.
Alison celebrating Christmas back home in Australia.
Christmas traditions
Christmas is completely different for Alison in Ireland. “Here I go down to see my aunts, uncles and cousins in Cork, and we sit around the fire and bundle up. We go for a very brisk walk on St Stephen’s Day. Christmas in Australia is very different – it’s a barbecue out the back, exactly like what you have seen on Neighbours. Everybody’s wearing Hawaiian shirts and shorts,” she says with a laugh.
Most Aussies also spend Christmas day on the beach eating cold meats.
“In Australia, you have to be okay with singing about snow and jingle bells while also sweating in 40-degree heat, that’s just normal. I am happy enough in Ireland for Christmas, but I do miss mango season. In Queensland, they raffle off the first mango of the season. It’s such a big deal, and I would do anything for a nice, fresh mango,” she says.
Instagram: @silefarmandnursery
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