{"id":338323,"date":"2026-03-10T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/338323\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T07:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:00:08","slug":"ive-had-three-bikes-stolen-in-dublin-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/338323\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019ve had three bikes stolen in Dublin\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The biggest change that Miren-Maialen McDonald has observed since moving to Dublin<\/a> 26 years ago? Transport<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll these years that I have been in Dublin I have never had a driving licence and I never will, so I\u2019ve always been cycling<\/a> or taking public transport,\u201d McDonald says.<\/p>\n

Having moved to Dublin from Hamburg, Germany<\/a>, McDonald says the contrast between the two cities\u2019 public transport infrastructure was stark. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came there was no Luas. The buses did not have a timetable at the bus stops that you could see.\u201d <\/p>\n

Though she is originally from San Sebasti\u00e1n in the Spanish Basque Country, also known as Donostia in Basque, , McDonald moved to Ireland from Hamburg, where she was working at the time, and brought her bike with her. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe bike got stolen,\u201d she says. \u201cI have had three bikes stolen in Dublin. When I arrived the infrastructure for cyclists was poorer than it is right now. Things have changed but I still think things need to improve more.\u201d <\/p>\n

Over the past few years, McDonald believes that Dublin is slowly becoming more like her home city. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the streets have been pedestrianised, which is very similar to Donostia.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As a child, McDonald attended German school and went on to university in Hamburg. After leaving university she worked as a translator in Hamburg before being transferred to Dublin. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined that I was going to end up living in Ireland because I completed my education in a German school.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald didn\u2019t know anyone in Ireland and couldn\u2019t speak English when she arrived. Despite this, she doesn\u2019t remember having any trepidation about the move. <\/p>\n

\u201cI always loved Irish music. I love Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor and The Corrs. I remember that back in Germany, I went to a concert of The Corrs. So, I was very excited about the move.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she received news of her transfer, her parents encouraged her to accept the move as her brother, Pedro, had begun his career as a chef in Galway. The encouragement and welcome that Pedro received there led McDonald\u2019s parents to believe that Ireland was a good place for someone starting out in their career. <\/p>\n

\u201cPedro has worked in many countries since, Japan, Malaysia, among other places, but he remembers Galway as the place where it all started. I am very close to my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite her high expectations of life in Ireland, she was initially unsure about whether Dublin was the place for her. <\/p>\n

\"ForFor Miren-Maialen McDonald, Donostia will always be her home, but having built a life she loves in Dublin, she thinks of it as her home for now. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n

\u201cI think meeting my husband was a turning point for me to make my life here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after arriving in Ireland, McDonald signed herself up to a German-language exchange programme at the Ilac Shopping Centre. The programme organised a trip to Glendalough, and McDonald met her husband, Gerard, on that trip. <\/p>\n

A week later he got in touch and asked to take her dancing. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been dancing ever since . . . I do believe that it\u2019s something that keeps me alive, this dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after Gerard graduated, the couple moved to Sao Paulo for her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were part of the Irish diaspora there. It was interesting because I remember there was a place in a small town called Paraty and, would you believe it, they had a street called James Joyce?\u201d <\/p>\n

McDonald is a passionate fan of Joyce\u2019s writings and for the past 10 years and has taken Bloomsday, June 16th, off work. Each year McDonald and her friend, Fabio, make a pilgrimage to the James Joyce Tower in Sandycove to listen to the readings that are organised for the day. <\/p>\n

Alongside having a rich literary heritage, McDonald believes Irish people are very curious about different cultures. She often finds that when she tells people where she is from, they have either been themselves or know something about the city and its culture. <\/p>\n

Over the years, McDonald and her husband have both made an effort to learn each other\u2019s languages.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves speaking Basque and he has learned some words. I love speaking in Irish, like I love the phrase: an\u00e1il na beatha an t-arthr\u00fa, change is the breath of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The pair married in 2021, though they had to postpone the wedding twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were extremely lucky because the week we got married some of the restrictions were lifted and we were able to have live Celtic music. We had traditional music from different bands perform.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald helped to start a group that cycles around community gardens in Dublin and around the country.<\/p>\n

She helps people who have just moved to Dublin to find community by introducing them to the clubs and groups she is a part of.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes people can be lonely when they come to the country and they don\u2019t know what to do or where to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

For McDonald, Donostia will always be her home but having built a life she loves in Dublin, she thinks of it as her home for now. <\/p>\n

We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com<\/a> or tweet @newtotheparish<\/a><\/p>\n