The journalist and former Sydney Rose on her working-class roots, Repeal the Eighth, and why her strong connection with Ireland and living ‘in a state of perma-grievance’ will add to her unmissable new weekly column
“We were, by my standards, millionaires, because we had two used cars.” Former Sydney Rose, TV reporter and new Irish Independent columnist on her working class roots
“Winter has officially landed in Sydney,” Brianna Parkins tells me. “Our summer has finally ended, with a bang. I’m overlooking the harbour now, and the waves! We don’t really get autumn or spring. It lurches from one extreme season to another. You’d miss the mild, soft days.”
By which she means the mild, soft Irish days. Brianna moved back to Sydney, where she grew up – as part of an Irish emigrant community – in summer 2024, to start a job as a television reporter with ABC News. Last weekend, she announced another move: to Irish Independent, where she begins a new weekly column.