THERE ARE ABOUT 16,500 people living in the Greater Perth area of Australia who were born in Ireland, according to the country’s 2021 census.
There is not one particular narrative that tells their stories, however.
About 3,000 of them are over 65 years of age, with about the same number between the ages of 25 and 34.
Their tales of emigration may be based in recessions but the Irish push factors over the decades did not provide uniform experiences.
So when it comes to figuring out who will make up the crowd at the city’s Rectangular Stadium tonight for Ireland’s World Cup Group B fixture against Canada, the only clear assumption is that Irish fans will be in the majority.
“You’ll see a lot of people who might be kind of hibernating Irish… in the sense that they’re not outwardly necessarily Irish but when something like this comes on, they’ll be decked out tomorrow in green,” says Neil Sherwin, an Irish man and football writer living in Perth for the past 17 years.
The stadium has a 20,500 capacity and tickets are now like gold dust in the city.
Sherwin says that because of his links to football through his writing and playing for a local club, he has been inundated with requests for tickets.
“We have tickets as fans to take in the atmosphere and enjoy it – and a lot of people want to do the same thing,” he tells The Journal. “There’s that general curiosity.”
A woman manning the tourist information booth beside Fifa’s FanFestival area asked me if there were any Irish people left in Ireland given the number of questions she’s taken from my fellow countryman in the past two days.
The fanzone itself has sold out of pins featuring the tricolour and by Wednesday afternoon, a strong showing of men, women and children in all shades of green had gathered.
Part of the curiosity is, of course, that Irish people haven’t experienced a football world cup since 2002.
“Ireland in a World Cup – it doesn’t happen all the time,” says Padraig a few hours before kick-off in the fan area at Forrest Chase in the city centre. “It’ll be awhile before we see the men there again,” adds his friend Adam, who explains how he started watching the women’s team in Tallaght about four years ago before he moved to Australia.
Both men in their late 20s, they are joined by another Irish emigrant Conor who says that the achievement of qualifying for the World Cup got him more involved and interested.
“I’d always keep an eye out for results but I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to watch it beforehand. I’m very impressed,” agrees Padraig.
The trio took time off work from their plumbing and railway jobs and travelled to Sydney for the opening game.
They are expecting a significant crowd of Irish fans to create an atmosphere in The Shed end of the stadium.
“There’s a massive group out tonight for the game,” they say. “We’re the first here but there’ll be a lot more joining us.”
Oscillating waves of optimism and pessimism crash over fans as I ask them what they’re expecting tonight but the general consensus is hope for a big moment – a goal.
“My first World Cup was Italia ’90 so it’s been all of that with the men’s side – having those moments… Bonner’s save, Ray Houghton right up to Robbie Keane in 2002,” Sherwin reminisces.
“But all of that sort of stuff is moments that people can cling on to and I think given that this is the first women’s chance to do that, it will be a real shame if they go out of the tournament without one of them.
“People can hang their hats on those moments and say that in 10, 15, 20 years, I’m proud of these. That’s part of the reason I’m looking forward to the game. Because if Ireland win, or get an amazing goal, I’ll have been there.
“You know and when they talk about it in 20 or 30 years time – I might still be living in Perth – but when that happens, I was there. Like I couldn’t sit at home knowing that it was on 20 minutes down the road. And I think there’s quite a bit of that.”
The idea that this is a small part of Irish history being made is certainly not lost on those countrymen and women who have set up their lives so far away from home.
“We’re never going to see this again in our lifetime,” explains Dublin-born Sinéad Nolan, who is in Perth with her husband Barry and three daughters Ellie, Isabelle and Zaylee after travelling from Sydney where they have lived for the past 16 years.
“For the first game to be on against Australia and [our] girls playing football, and women in sports now, I just thought it was amazing. The atmosphere in Sydney… to see so many families, to see so many men coming out, it was just brilliant.”
Ellie, the eldest, wore her Australian colours on Thursday while her younger sister Isabella donned the green of Ireland ‘because she likes them more’.
Zaylee, not yet two, was more neutral in a Dublin jersey.
“Ireland is still home though,” says Barry. “It’s always home.”
That patriotism is another common theme amongst today’s ticket holders.
“We haven’t had that many occasions to be full on patriots – and that’s something people will celebrate,” says Sherwin.
Gemma Reynolds from Dublin who made the trip to Perth via Sydney from Melbourne says something strikingly similar when asked why she is here.
“I guess it’s that bit of patriotism. We don’t get that opportunity a lot being so far away from home.
“I’m just on the bandwagon,” she adds when talking to Stuart Gilhooly and Stephen McGuinness of the PFAI in the fanzone, two men central to the threatened strike action by the women’s team in 2017.
“Personally, I know very little about women’s soccer but I’ll support anything Ireland are involved in, especially when in Australia.”
Ireland take on Canada tonight at 8pm local time, 1pm Irish time. Sinéad O’Carroll and Emma Duffy are in Australia reporting for The Journal and The 42. Subscribe to The 42 here.
