When Joan Gallagher decided to relocate her family to Spain 22 years ago, she knew there was only a small window of time in which to fulfil this lifelong dream of hers.
Having spent most of her working life with the Bank of Ireland, Joan didn't get the same chances to travel as her husband John did, as he worked in construction and travelled widely throughout university.
The couple settled in John's hometown of Boyle, Co. Roscommon, where Joan cared for her sick mother and raised the couple's four sons.
"And then about a year after my mother died, I realised that, actually, I can do whatever I want now", she says. "I didn't really think about the four boys, to be honest. I just thought, I'm free now."
Joan and John are just two of the many Irish people who have flocked from Ireland to other parts of the world, often in search of better work opportunities, communities, lifestyle and, yes, better weather. They share their story in Best Place to Be, RTE's new series about Irish diaspora and why they moved, hosted by Baz Ashmawy, which airs tonight.
For Joan, even this wasn't an ideal opportunity to move, but it was her only feasible one for a while. With John about to begin work on a large construction project in Boyle, Joan was faced with relocating her family herself until her husband could join them.
"If I didn't do it in 2001, I couldn't see in the future when would have been a good time to do it", she says. She told her sons they were only going for a year, though she harboured a hope that they would stay longer. "I did promise them if they weren't happy, we would come home, but we were definitely going one year at least."
The first year was a challenge, she recalls, with the boys in a sort of "grieving" for their life at home. "They were desperately sad at times, and then maybe 10 minutes later they'd be laughing about something. It was that kind of a year."
For Joan, too, there were nights spent questioning whether she'd made the right choice. "But I've never let them see that because I felt they needed to see me being strong and they needed to know that they couldn't persuade me to go back."
The family slowly found their feet, as John visited every month before moving permanently, the four boys took up rugby - with two playing for the Spanish under-18s - and Joan found a community through yoga. She learned Spanish and Catalan, and started giving English lessons. Despite moving to Sitges, they eventually relocated to Falset, where they have recently opened an aparthotel, Priorat.
She is also keenly aware of how much her relationship bolstered both herself and John, as well as their family, during the process. "We're lucky that we're a good couple, we're 40 years together, we've ups and downs and ups and downs we're like the Alps", she laughs. "But there were moments when I thought it's too much.
"Then something will get sorted and you say, that's fine, now that's sorted."
Speaking now, as a firm fixture in the community, Joan is reflective when asked what she makes of the Ireland of today.
"I struggled really with the very conservative nature of living in Ireland", she says.
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Best Place to Be kicks off | Tuesday 7.00pm | @rteone and @rteplayer pic.twitter.com/vCnY6iSDvP
"I didn't want my boys growing up in a very conservative [place where] to be different was not really accepted. I really feel that by living here, they can be themselves and they can be whoever they want to be. Maybe in Ireland now they could do that and be like that. But certainly not in 2000 or the late 90s."
It's a facet of Irish life that's close to her heart: "I had a sister who was gay and she had to leave Ireland and went to live in London."
She remembers how the couple flew to Barcelona to research where they might live, eventually following a friend's suggestion to visit Sitges, a place they immediately felt at home in.
"When I told the boys when we came back, 'now, we're going to a town called Sitges and it's gorgeous', and also I said, 'it just happens to be the gay capital of Europe'.
"They all knew that [my sister] was gay and Ronan, our youngest, says, 'does that mean we're all going to become gay now?'" she recalls, laughing. "And I said, 'no, but chances are one of you at least might be and it will be a great place to grow up'. And he said, 'you're right, Mam.'"
Best Place to Be airs on Tuesdays at 7pm on RTE One.
