Meet Vicky O’Donoghue, Kerry Woman living in The Northern Territory (Australia)

Hi, I’m Vicky. My family is originally from Killarney, but I spent most of my life in Dublin.

I decided at 27 years old to go to Australia and New Zealand, after several friends saying they would come with me but didn’t, timing was never right I guess.

I had always wanted to travel and had an aunt and uncle in Perth. I was renting at the time in Ireland and my mum had left Dublin and was in a small house. I sold all my stuff, and took a box of sentimental stuff to my mum’s and jumped on the plane.

Some time later I met my now partner at mutual friends’ party, an Aboriginal man from Arnhem Land, so began a bit of a long-distance relationship.

We live together now at his family’s outstation in Arnhem Land with a fair bit of time in Darwin to help care for his mother who was diagnosed with dementia last year.

People often ask how I like living here and my answer is that every time I moved in the last ten years I have moved further North.

So I’ve acclimatized to the heat and I guess having spent a lot of time working in hospitality I am happy to have a break of sorts and do something different – have a slower pace and not let life pass me by.

‘I have always liked adventure and no day is the same here!’

What do you miss about home?

I miss home, mainly the people and the food. Working in hospitality I felt very undervalued, particularly as a woman but it has allowed me to move around Australia and New Zealand fairly easily.

I travelled home with my partner and his son to meet my family for Christmas of 2019.

So I feel lucky that way from the point of view of Covid-19 and having only been home every five years before that I got my fix so to speak. 

I count myself lucky to be living in Northern Territory, fortunately we have had very few lockdowns and restrictions compared to the rest of the country.

Follow Vicky O’Donoghue on Facebook.