Itchy feet is an affliction many Irish people can identify with.
At 28, Morgan Gallagher had lived in Brisbane her whole life. After deciding to step back from hockey, having represented Australia at international level, it was time to see what life could be like elsewhere.
She and her partner Lachlan Stewart, who played rugby with Brisbane Souths prior to the move, had a modest list of demands. They wanted to move somewhere English-speaking where he could play rugby and if there was a chance for her to play hockey at a good level, then happy days.
He was offered a contract with AIL Division 1B side Garryowen, so it was decided that Limerick was to be their new home.
“My great-grandparents actually were from here,” Gallagher says of the Treaty county. “We had no connection [to the area] prior to moving here, but when I told my grandma, she said that’s where her mum was from, which is crazy.”
While Gallagher was glad of the stability of being able to keep her job – continuing to practice as a lawyer for her Australian firm despite the 10-hour time difference – working from home isn’t ideal when you’re trying to meet people. In the absence of a workplace, hockey again offered her a social lifebuoy.
“I contacted someone from Munster Hockey because I didn’t really know where to start. They put me in touch with Ger (O’Carroll, coach) from Catholic Institute – they play in the EY League, which was what I was after, to play in the top competition here.
“When we moved over (in early September), I think it was like three days after I got here when I went to training.”
She may have been on the other side of the world, but Gallagher was instantly right at home with her new team.
“My initial thought was that it would all be different, but when I went to training all the girls were just exactly the same as what my team would be like at home. They all have very similar interests, they all kind of speak the same and they all do the same things.
“I was expecting it to be very different, but I would say a lot of the girls in my team would easily be mates and integrate very easily with a lot of the girls at home.”
In those early days, small gestures of kindness made a difference.
“I hadn’t really been in a new team for so many years, because I’d just been training with the same girls I’d grown up with and played hockey with, so I kind of was a little bit nervous,” Gallagher says.
“It was really funny because I don’t think I’ve been nervous for years, because everything I’ve done has been so comfortable. Going to the first training session, I was really nervous.
“Ger picked me up on the way, which was really nice because [it meant] I was arriving with someone and she walked me in. I hadn’t had that feeling in so many years.”
The nerves quickly dissipated and before long Gallagher was back getting involved in the time-honoured tradition of hanging around after training having the chats with team-mates.
That friendship was extended by the wider club when some special guests visited in December: “My parents came to visit just before Christmas and some of the parents took them out for drinks after our game.
Morgan Gallagher of Brisbane Blaze takes to the field before the Hockey One League Women’s Grand Final against NSW Pride in November, 2022. Photograph: Martin Keep/Getty Images
“Everyone has just been overwhelmingly nice and welcoming.”
Five months in and the couple now have a social circle which takes in both their Catholic Institute and Garryowen teammates, who have helped to add colour to their life in Limerick.
They’ve made the trip to Thomond Park (albeit for the agonising Champions Cup defeat to Castres) and the Gaelic Grounds may well be on the cards now the intercounty GAA season is back under way.
While Limerick, in some ways, is proving to be a world away from what she’s always known – the weather first and foremost – Gallagher and her partner are embracing the positives of the midwest.
“It’s significantly smaller than Brisbane. It is different, but it’s really nice that everything is so close; everything [in the city] is just within walking distance.
“But I find that it’s definitely sort of a slower environment here and more relaxed, which has been really nice.
“And also, I’ve found that everyone sort of knows everyone, which is very nice because there’s a very community feel.”