Love works its magic in Oz
Liz was head over heels when she met Derek, writes Andrea Smith, but her parents were just relieved to know he was Irish
Sunday January 17 2010
WHEN Liz O'Hagan met Derek Lalor in Scruffy Murphy's pub in Sydney, she ended up leaving her new job in the town she had just moved to, in order to be with him. As she's someone who is very ambitious and focused on her career, it was a surprising turn of events, but she fell deeply in love -- and acted accordingly.
"I used to think that love at first sight was a whole load of codswallop," she admits. "Then I met Derek in 1997, and for the first time in my life, my heart ruled my head."
Liz was born in London, and her family moved to Perth, Western Australia, in 1981, when she was nine and her sister Bernadette was 11. Her parents were both from Leitrim and they moved abroad for work. Her dad, Colm, set up a construction company called Shamrock Enterprises in Perth, and it was extremely successful, growing into a multi-million dollar business.
"Dad mainly employed Irish people," she says, "and he stayed within the Irish community in Perth. He never integrated into the Australian community, and always had a romantic idea of Ireland."
Derek is from Athy, and he trained as a fitter there. His dad, Reggie, was a local councillor, and owned a pub in the town, then called Reggie Lalor's. He is the middle boy of three, with an older brother Aiden, and a younger brother Fintan, who died aged 26 in a car accident.
When Derek met Liz, he was over in Australia for a year and had 10 weeks left on his visa.
"I caught her smile when she was walking across the bar to the bathroom, and I talked to her as I had a few pints on me," he says smiling and admitting that he's normally shy.
They chatted away, prompting Liz to remark that it was the "longest pee I've ever held onto in my life", and got on brilliantly. So much so, that Liz ended up meeting him every day of her two-week holiday in Sydney.
She then went back to Geraldton, 260 miles north of Perth, where she had just moved to take up a new position working in advertising and promotions at a radio station. However, after eight days in her new job, during which Derek called every day, she handed in her notice. Then she sold everything she owned and moved to Sydney to be with Derek, in a house with him and his five male flatmates.
"It was the strangest thing, because I was, and still am, one of the most ambitious people you could ever meet," she says. "My parents were disgusted that I had left my job, but the only silver lining for them was that Derek is Irish."
Then two weeks before Derek was due to return to Athy, he decided to stay on in Australia with Liz. She asked her father to give him a job, and he agreed, sponsoring Derek through a visa programme. They moved back to Perth and paid a visa agency to handle the paperwork, but the company didn't get it in on time and Derek's visa was refused twice before finally being passed.
Liz was by then helping to run her father's business. After seeing the difficulties that Derek and some of her father's employees encountered with the visa process, she decided to study Australian immigration law. She then became a migration agent, and set up a company called Emerald Solutions. "I vowed that I would specialise in Irish people, because they were the ones being screwed over," she says. "They were seen to have money, and some people took advantage of that."
Derek and Liz were married in 2000 in Perth, and they moved to Kildare in 2001, as the deal they made between them was that they would come to live in Ireland for a few years.
"Derek and I are just so different," says Liz. "I'm the talkative one and am confident and really passionate about things. Derek is a gentle giant, and he's shy and quieter, and sometimes I don't give him an ounce. But if he has a point to make, he'll make it. He has to be the most patient and supportive man, and I don't know how he puts up with me."
By her own admission, Liz found it a struggle to adjust, missing the good weather and finding it hard that everyone seemed to know everything about everyone else.
She has a very high expectation of service, she says, and initially felt that people here were too laidback, even in business. Also, nobody warned her before she moved to Ireland about the Irish Mammies' Boys.
"My biggest tease with Derek is that he's a Mammy's Boy," she laughs. "When I first moved here, I had to share him with his mother, who is also called Elizabeth. I have the most extraordinarily close and unusual relationship that anyone could have with their in-laws though, because they're like my own parents."
Derek got a job as a fitter, and Liz opened an office in Clane, changing her company name to Australian Visa Specialists. After merging and expanding, it now has offices in many countries. She feels that going to Australia is a life-changing experience, and she spends a lot of her time talking to backpackers and their families.
She discusses potential pitfalls and problems, and gives advice, wanting people to get the most from the experience. She also advises families, many of whom are anxious about the right time to make the move with their children.
She has noticed an upsurge in people wanting to move abroad, with the recession biting deeply, so her company will be holding free information days next week.
She's the best person to talk to, says Derek, as she's very dedicated, and puts herself out for people over and above the call of duty. "Liz is very thoughtful, and everything has to be done 100 per cent, no matter what it is," he says.
Australia Information Days will be held at the Claregalway Hotel, Galway, on January 23, and Citywest Hotel, Dublin, on January 24, both from 11am to 4pm. Further dates will follow in Waterford, Killarney and Letterkenny. Please call 045 868322 or visit www.aus tralianvisaspecialists.com
- Andrea Smith
Originally published in
