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Irishman in Singapore: I wondered if I was foolish to emigrate in my 50s. But I feel more alive than ever
Irish professionals are highly regarded in Singapore. And I had not realised that experience, and the wisdom that comes with it, is highly valued in Asian culture
Dr Richard Hennessy (right) with his partner, Paul Gallagher, at Marina Bay Sands.
Richard Hennessy
Thu Jan 23 2025 - 19:57
In 2017, after over 30 happy years of public service, something waylaid me, almost destroyed my confidence and left me, for the first time in my life, unhappy in my job.
Educational psychologists are always in demand but I did not have the confidence to start looking around at that point.
Suddenly, fate intervened. Out of the blue, my partner was offered a position as professor at the National University of Singapore and he asked how I would feel about upping sticks and moving from Dublin to South East Asia.
Both in our early 50s, we had been fortunate in never being forced to emigrate, as many of our contemporaries were in the 1980s. Were we foolish to consider it at this stage in our lives