Dublin to Manhattan

Two years after graduating in Architecture, I had a dream job in Dublin where I had been living since attending college. I had money in my pocket, was almost done paying off student loans, and the future looked bright. And then, all of a sudden, it seemed, and without much warning, the economy was souring. In bad times, the labour-intensive building industry is usually the earliest major casualty. And architects tend to be the proverbial ‘canary in the coal-mine’; we suffer first, and hardest. During my last few months in Dublin, Friday afternoons were a constant source of bad news in the profession. In the office, the phone would ring at my desk, or at a coworker’s desk, and we’d hear the latest tribulations of our architectural colleagues. Such and such a firm laid off twelve architects. So and so was given two weeks notice. An architectural firm that had been in business for sixty years was closing its doors. The writing was on the wall, and many architects strategically left their jobs voluntarily, promptly heading off to London or Berlin or Australia to nail down a job overseas before the next wave of architectural layoffs beat them to it. For a number of months, the layoffs seemed never ending. I heard the sad fates of many of my friends and former classmates. And then, inevitably, my own turn came. I got my notice one Friday afternoon, and that was that.

Nobody was hiring, and I moved back home to save money. And besides, almost all of the architects I socialized with had already moved abroad and had found work elsewhere. I was at a loose end. I wasn’t feeling especially lucky, but I joined the rest of the country by filling out an application for a Morrison Visa.

And, against my low expectations, I actually got one of them. As a family member was living in New Jersey, I booked a flight to Newark. After only two days of settling in, I got down to business sending out resumes, and answering newspaper advertisements for architectural jobs. Building-wise, New York City was thriving, and despite having no US experience, and none at all working in imperial dimensions! I soon had six or seven interviews lined up, the last of which offered me a job, “if I could start right away”, which indeed I did the following morning. My immediate goal was to make a bit of money and move back home in a couple of years when the Irish economy would hopefully have improved. But New York City is captivating and its almost magnetic attraction has a way of pulling you in deeper and interfering with any plans to leave.

“The constant excitement of being in New York and the energy is like an addictive drug.”

Opportunities abounded, and there were always plenty of people encouraging me to pursue my goals. Thirty years later, I am still working here, and loving it more than I could have imagined when I arrived as a somewhat ‘green’ architect with no prior professional experience in the US.

Back in the 90’s, many thousands left Ireland in search of ‘work’. Most did find ‘work’, but not all were able to continue with their intended careers. Many worked under the radar, taking whatever employment opportunities came their way. I’m very grateful for the opportunity that the Morrison Visa provided at a crucial stage in my fledgling professional life. The visa not only allowed me to work in the US, but it effectively enabled me to continue my chosen career.

“I like to think that something I designed will be of lasting architectural value in New York City, that I may have been able to give something back to a city and country that gave me opportunities and a life I would not wish to change.”