One of David Conway’s biggest adjustments on returning home to Ireland after seven years in Taipei is not climactic shift from subtropical heat to freezing winter, nor is it the move from Taiwan’s famous Bubble tea to plain old Barry’s. It’s the stagnant Dublin transport system.
“I used to be a lot more tolerant of public transport here but it gets on my nerves now after being in a place that’s much better. Traffic has got a lot worse,” says Conway, a native of Knocklyon in Dublin.
“The public transport is amazing. They’ve high-speed trains” and are always expanding their transit system, he says. “They would put our metro plans to shame.” Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) includes six main lines and two branch lines for a city with a population of 2.5 million.
Taiwan also has a public bike system that can be used throughout the country. “It would be nice if the Dublin bike scheme was expanded, not just in the city centre.”
Conway misses the transport, the all-night convenience stores and the “stunning landscapes and hiking trails”. But the thing he misses most since moving home is the friends he made in Taiwan Celts GAA clubs, who felt like family.
Conway sought out the local GAA team almost immediately on moving to Taipei in 2018. He had only played GAA up until the age of 12 but rediscovered a love for the sport and the camaraderie.
“The GAA club was very important for meeting a wide range of likeminded people… Taiwan is not top on Irish people’s list of destinations so the team was diverse, it was really cool.”
Taiwan had just 176 Irish-born residents in January 2025, according to local statistics.
This small Irish presence is reflected in the club’s range of nationalities with players from the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia as well as lots of female players from Taiwan, says Conway.
“They don’t really know about GAA, or for some Ireland, until they join,” he says.
Many first heard about GAA through Facebook, says David, who looked after the club’s social media.
For many non-Irish players, it was the first time to do a Gaelic hand-pass, but skills from other sports helped. “Basketball seems to translate well into Gaelic football,” says Conway.
The appeal was about more than about point-scoring, with lots of social events and beach trips on days that were too hot to train. An annual highlight was the Asian Gaelic Games – in cities such as Bangkok.
The team and the people he met are among the reasons Conway’s one-year stint turned into seven.
“The people are really nice.” While he tried to learn Chinese he “never fully grasped it properly”.
“Sometimes I’d be in a 7/11 and I’d just say hello in Chinese and they’d say ‘Your Chinese is so good’. But everyone speaks English, there is a big rush on learning it.”
“I often thought Taiwan and Ireland are a bit the same because everyone assumes I am from England or the USA and they are overpowered by this big neighbour, China.”
The main island of Taiwan, 130km off the coast of China, is roughly half the size of Ireland. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), has its own constitution, and is a democratic nation distinct from the People’s Republic of China. However, Beijing claims Taiwan, home to some 23 million people, as part of its territory under its “One China” principle. Last month saw the latest in a succession of Chinese military exercises around the island.
The pandemic was the second factor delaying Conway’s return to Ireland. Taiwan kept the pandemic at bay for a long period and there was a short lockdown. After the pandemic Conway decided to stay to get his permanent visa.
He returned to Ireland once he got the visa, spurred on by regular questions from his mum about coming home. But Conway also felt it was time to have a career.
Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. Photograph: Bing-Jhen Hong/Getty/iStock
He taught English to younger children while in Taipei. “All you really need is a TEFL qualification, a degree and to be a native English speaker to get a job,” he says. “You are paid more than the average Taiwanese,” he says.
Conway is now working in his area of qualification (planning). But he was accompanied home with his Taiwanese girlfriend, who is studying in Trinity.
[ Rock climber Alex Honnold scales Taiwan skyscraper without ropesOpens in new window ]
One of his lessons for emigrants returning home is how “in your head you think things are the same as when you left. But people have moved on with their lives”.
Conway hasn’t closed the door on returning to Taipei but says it wouldn’t be to go back teaching English. “It’s an amazing place to live. In some ways it’s harder to come home than to move there.”
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