Declan Brosnan

I applied for my Morrison Visa in 1993 during my final year as an undergraduate at the University of Limerick. The process ran through 1993 and 1994, and I validated it in the summer of 1994. By the spring of 1995, I had officially made the move and settled in New York. My roots are in North Kerry, in a small town called Ballybunion, so leaving Ireland was a huge leap, but one that felt like the right decision for me and my career.

At that stage, I was studying finance and economics and later went on to complete a Master’s at UCD. I had applied for a few jobs in Dublin and London, but the Irish financial sector was still underdeveloped in the early 1990s, and opportunities were scarce. Realistically, if I wanted to pursue a serious career in finance, I was going to have to go abroad. For me, New York was the obvious choice. Ironically, the Celtic Tiger arrived just a few years later, but at that time, the reality in Ireland was high unemployment and limited prospects. The Morrison Visa was my ticket to pursue finance in the place where it mattered most.

Moving from rural Kerry to New York City was nothing short of a shock. I had been to New York briefly to validate my visa, but living there was a completely different experience. The sheer scale of the city, the multiculturalism, and the relentless pace of life were all overwhelming at first. What struck me most, though, was the sense of dynamism and opportunity.

New York, at that time, felt genuinely meritocratic. It wasn’t that the streets were paved with gold, but if you worked hard and had the right skills, there was space to move ahead.

That feeling gave me huge motivation to push forward and make the most of my chance.

The biggest challenge was leaving family and everything familiar behind. I arrived with only a couple of thousand dollars in my pocket and very little certainty. Friends back home were settling into steady careers, while I was stepping into the unknown. I knew a few lads in New York, some on Morrison Visas, others on J1 programs, but most of them eventually went home. For me, it was always about career, so I committed fully to staying. That independence was tough, but it was also what made the experience transformative.

Looking back now, the move absolutely shaped my life. I am certain I progressed further in my career than I ever could have if I had stayed in Ireland. Financially and professionally, the opportunities in the U.S. were far greater. The sacrifice came on the personal side. I put career first and married much later in life, in my early fifties. But I am proud of the trade-off. What I achieved professionally, building a solid career in finance and navigating the highs and lows, especially through events like the financial crisis, is something I look back on with real pride.

The Morrison Visa changed everything for me. It opened doors I never could have imagined and gave me the chance to succeed in one of the most competitive industries in the world. Beyond my own story, I see the program as a shining example of how immigration, when well-designed, can benefit everyone. Structured, fair, and skills-based visas give individuals and their families opportunities to build better lives while contributing positively to their new communities. Immigration is part of human nature; we will always seek out opportunity, and programs like the Morrison Visa show just how transformative that can be.