A Garrycastle man based in South Africa
Donal Ryan is a Garrycastle native who has been living in South Africa for the last 15 years. He is married to Sue and they have two daughters, Emma (7) and Hayley (3). Back home are his parents Dermot and Rita, his brothers Ciarán and Aidan, and his sister Aoife.
How long have you been based in South Africa, and how did your move there come about?
I've been living in Durban since February 2006. My brother Ciarán had come down here a few months before that to get his helicopter pilot's licence. It sounded like he was having great craic flying around the place and acting the eejit. So I decided to pack up and join him and we both flew around the place and acted the eejit! The original plan was to stay for a year or two but I got myself hooked on a local Durban girl and that was the beginning of the Durban Ryan family. We now have two little cailíns and live in the northern suburbs. I don't fly helicopters any more - I'm a bit more grounded and work in the rubber manufacturing industry.
Obviously, 2021 has been another strange year due to the pandemic. What was this year like for you?
The worst part has been not being able to come home to Ireland for a visit. It's been two years since my last trip, which is by far my longest stint away. I miss people! Other than that it's been grand. All in all, South Africa has navigated the pandemic quite well. It hasn't devastated the country like people originally thought would happen. The healthcare facilities are fantastic, which obviously helps.
There's been lots of media coverage of the Omicron variant and its apparent origins in South Africa. Has your day-to-day life changed much as a result of that?
Not at all. The world started going mental with travel bans and there were still only a handful of cases per day down here. It's hard to know if it actually originated in South Africa. They do a huge amount of medical research here, so it's natural that they'll be to the fore with discovering things like this. Over the past couple of weeks the fourth wave has hit but we're still in Level 1 and have very few restrictions. Since the very start of the pandemic mask-wearing was made compulsory in all public places and schools. It's become the norm.
I'm convinced that has helped massively. I don't know why the whole world doesn't suck it up and do that for a few months!
What are the best and worst things about living in South Africa?
The weather and quality of life are by far the best things. If you have a decent job you can live very well. It's a beautiful country. It gets stinky hot in peak summer but I just hug the air conditioner and battle through. The worst is probably being so far away from my family in Ireland. I'm missing out on a lot. If we could shift South Africa a bit closer it'd be grand! They could also do with voting a few brain cells into the government here, which would go a long way to sorting out some of the poverty in the country. But sure I think the same could be said for Ireland!
What are your plans for Christmas Day this year?
We'll be hosting the in-laws for Christmas dinner. It's usually crazy hot on Christmas Day, so cold beers and dips in the swimming pool are essential activities in between the turkey basting. But even in the heat I'll still be sure to dish out the Irish Coffees and do a sláinte to the family back home.
What are some of the things you will miss about Christmas in Ireland?
Family, friends, craic, frost, turf, pints in Gerties, pints in other pubs, turkey and stuffing sandwiches on Brennan's bread, being home.
Is there any message you would like to send to friends or family reading this?
Have a good one. Don't have too much fun without me. See ye all soon, hopefully! Up the 'Castle!