Eoghan Brownen's Story

Love and adventure brought Irish wanderer Eoghan Brownen to Victoria’s coastal city of Geelong but a great job as a languages teacher and a new life with his wife and two step-daughters has seen him put down roots.

After graduating as a teacher in Ireland, Eoghan spent several years working in Europe before moving to Kuwait and then Saudia Arabia, where he met Australian, Kelly Smith, also a long-time traveller who grew up in Geelong.

Why I chose Victoria

‘My plan was to keep coming south and eventually get to Australia but Kelly kind of sped things up,’ said Eoghan.

‘We met in 2003. She was working as a nurse and I was a French teacher. We became good friends but we were both in other relationships at the time so it didn’t go any further.’

When Kelly’s relationship ended in 2004 she returned to Geelong with young daughters, Grace, who is now eight, and Faith who is seven. Not long after, Eoghan’s long-term relationship also broke up and he was at a loose end – not sure whether to return to Ireland or continue travelling.

How I got here

‘I stayed in touch with Kelly and a few other Aussies and several months later I emailed them to say I was coming. Kelly said I could stay with her, and it’s a very Irish thing to take people up on their offers,’ joked Eoghan.

‘I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay but we struck up a relationship so I thought I’ll try to get a work visa and see what happens.’

After seeking some advice Eoghan realised his best option was to apply for a skilled migration visa because there was a shortage of trained languages teachers in Victoria. ‘I got very lucky with someone from the Victorian Government’s Skilled Migration Program. I got hold of her after one phone call – it was amazing. She really helped me through the process.

Finding work

While waiting for his application to be processed, Eoghan sent out resumes to a number of schools in Geelong hoping to get a bite. The first school to contact him was prestigious private college, Geelong Grammar.

A month later when his application was approved Eoghan was offered a job and worked at the school for a little over a year.

‘It’s a big boarding school with a large international community of teachers and students. I took over from a Polish guy so it became a bit of a joke that the Irishman was now teaching French and Spanish.’

Eoghan is now working at the junior campus of The Geelong College, an equally well-respected private school, which he joined in mid 2006.

Deputy Head of The Geelong College junior campus, Coral Turner, said the school was very lucky to have someone with Eoghan’s skills. ‘He’s a fluent French speaker with additional skills in Spanish. He’s also a highly trained linguist with a Masters Degree, which certainly attracted us.’

Coral said the school had a policy of teaching students ‘more than just the basic rudimentary language’.

‘Eoghan has a wonderful way of relating to the students and making the language lively. In Australia finding good language teachers is not easy so when you get one you want to hold on to them,’ said Coral.

What I love about Victoria

In terms of quality of life, Eoghan said Geelong was a great place to live. ‘The waterfront is beautiful, there are great cafes and places to eat out, and there are all these really fantastic beaches nearby.’

He said one of the things he really liked was the focus on outdoor activities and sport. ‘I mean you can see why – it’s a magnificent country and its worth spending as much time as you can outside.’

Eoghan said he also enjoyed getting away on weekends and exploring Victoria’s coastline. ‘We recently did a day-trip with the girls along the Great Ocean Road to the Otway Ranges which was amazing.’

The future

And 18 months after arriving in Geelong on a whim, Eoghan made another life-changing decision. ‘He came home one day, got down on his knees and proposed to me in Gaelic. It was very romantic,’ said Kelly.

The couple have since bought and renovated a 100 year-old Edwardian home and Kelly has returned to work as a night nursing supervisor at Geelong Grammar.

Perhaps not surprisingly one of their passions is still to travel. In the last few years they’ve visited Eoghan’s parents in Ireland, trekked through Cambodia and also taken Geelong Grammar students on a school trip to France, bringing Grace and Faith with them. Eoghan went as a supervising teacher, Kelly as a nurse.

‘We try to get away at least once a year,’ said Eoghan. ‘Even though Geelong is home, Kelly and I are both wanderers really – we’ve been travelling since our early 20s.’

Further information

• Living in Geelong
• Working as a Secondary School Teacher - check your eligibility for sponsorship and assessment information
• Services and resources available for settlement.