Irish Echo

Brian Briscoe, originally from Dublin now living in Perth….

What is your background and when and why did you come to Australia?

Born and raised in Artane, I was working in AIB in 1999 when I decided I’d like to copy thousands of others and experience Australia as a backpacker. So myself and a few mates arrived in Sydney just in time for the Millennium. I then travelled over 30,000kms around the country in an old Falcon and arrived in Perth in August 2000. Like most people over here, I intended only to stay for a few months but fell in love with this great city and 10 years later, it’s now home.

What has changed about your life since coming to Australia?

Where do I start!? Australia has been unbelievably kind to me. 9 years ago this month, I was diagnosed with cancer when I was a backpacker in Sydney – it truly was a life-changing experience but the Australian health system more or less saved me, with how fast they reacted to my illness. Since then, I have always felt lucky to live here. This country encourages young people to have a go and take opportunities which suits me down to the ground – at 33, I now own a successful executive and professional recruitment company, Briscoe Search & Consulting which has 13 staff and a great list of clients across various industries – so it has been a dynamic 9 years to say the least!

What do you do for fun?

Perth has so much to offer, particularly for families. We live by the beach in Hillarys so a lot of time is spent on the sand or in the water. As well as golf every weekend, I’m also President of Southern Districts Gaelic Football Club in Perth, a great club with a genuine mix of Irish and Australians, so after family time and running the business, that keeps me busy!

How often do you go back to Ireland?

Almost annually! We’ve been back 7 times in 9 years now – everyone keeps getting married so we can’t miss them! I also did some recruitment of Irish engineers last year for one of our clients in Perth so we got to mix business with pleasure.

Is there anything in particular you miss about Ireland?

I grew up with a hurley or a football in my hand, so I still miss Croke Park on any summer of Sundays! You never get the atmosphere of a great game of hurling out of your blood! Thankfully hurling is now alive and well again in Perth after an absence of years, so my fix is there if I need it these days!

Do you now call Australia home?

Definitely. Lisa, (my wife who was born in Ballyfermot and grew up in Leixlip) and I have built a great life for ourselves in Perth and we now have a 2-year old daughter, Grace who is a little Irish-Australian. We never forget where we came from – Grace already has “cúpla focail Gaeilge”, but we love where we live now – plus we give the Irish relatives a great holiday destination to come to!

How do you combat homesickness?

To be honest, after almost 10 years, it rarely happens now. When we came here first it was really tough as we knew absolutely no-one and all we had were the phone calls and letters home. Now, we are unbelievably lucky with the group of friends we have made over here – we call ourselves “the orphans” as almost all of us are from overseas! We spend every Christmas together and catch up all the time – really it’s our family away from home. Also, my parents are out here twice a year and we have regular visitors from friends and family so the world has become a smaller place since ’99.

Brian was recently recognised as one of the top 40 entrepreneurs under the age of 40 in Western Australia by WA Business News – a great achievement considering his relatively short time in Australia and the fact that he has built his name in Australia from nothing. Visit www.briscoesearch.com.au to read more about the company’s success.