Love has brought Leina from cosmopolitan Zagreb to the peaceful Glen of Aherlow

Newly installed in the Glen of Aherlow, it would have come as no surprise to Leina to have stumbled upon the Fianna warriors chasing a stag or boar in the fields by her home or she might see the local flying column on manoeuvres or drilling in the Glen on the slopes of the Galtees nearby. All the stories she had heard about the place had prepared her for such events.
People said: “That’s what Ireland was like,” she says. “But the place I found was not like that.” This was a very different place from the stories. It was, however, just as beautiful as she had heard and she looked forward to this new chapter with genuine optimism.
What a long way she had come from cosmopolitan Zagreb with its cafés and restaurants and the exciting feeling which comes from being in a centre of the arts, culture and education. “In Zagreb, you could do anything, be anything,” she says, “it’s the most liberal place you could ever imagine”.
Following the long and complex wars (the so called Balkan wars) and the subsequent disintegration of Yugoslavia it had become the capital city of the newly independent Croatia. There was a period of pure relief “peace at last”, pride in what was perceived as victory, and huge optimism. The transition, however, was slow and difficult and the term “Yugostalgia” was coined to explain the surprisingly widespread feeling that a lot had been lost as well as gained.
“I remember that feeling,” Leina says, and acknowledges that there were some great things about Yugoslavia and its unique brand of socialism. Despite the different cultures, individual histories, and differences of religion , there was for a long time, a great feeling of oneness and unity. She remembers the pride of the people for their resistance to the Soviets who tried relentlessly to absorb them and control them, like their Czech and Hungarian neighbours. They had also resisted the Americans and NATO who had promised all kinds of schemes and rewards. They had defied them all rigidly sticking it out alone through the long cold war.
She also remembers another post war phenomenon which is more difficult to describe. The war had been long and terrible, waged with all the violence and savagery which inevitably come to the surface when former neighbours fight. Minor but long held grievances had become grounds for conflict, revenge and atrocity. When it was over there was widespread disbelief that things had descended to such depths with such loss of life, mass destruction and financial ruin.
“There was a kind of collective national embarrassment,” and this was particularly prevalent in her. The world had been watching the whole debacle on their TV’s and reading about it in their newspapers. “What must they think of us,” she wondered. Any desire she had at that point to leave or travel was tempered by the belief that wherever she would go, she would face a litany of questions. How could she possibly explain how this had happened to her country and her people? She didn’t even know herself. Nobody did.
Her response was to “throw herself” into education and academia for nearly a decade which subsequently led her into the corporate world. This was a new and exciting world at first, but ultimately left a void in her life. There were plenty of opportunities for a well-educated woman as Croatia tried to recreate itself and find its place on the European stage. For Leina, this world of business and corporate greed was unfulfilling and she gradually became disillusioned with the motives and priorities of big business. She began to search for a change, perhaps one which would take her outside the “system” in which she had found herself.
It could justifiably be said that her next step, was in fact her first on a long road that would eventually lead her to Ireland, although she certainly didn’t know it at the time. She took up a position with the European Commission in Brussels which promised the change in direction she was longing for. This was a whole new world with people from all corners of Europe and beyond. It was interesting work with interesting people and it offered the chance to be part of something meaningful and useful, where people’s lives could be improved and standards raised.
She was accepted in this world and quickly found her feet. She describes her first year as a continuous exercise in “constructing the biggest social network that she could”. Working with such a diverse group of people was very rewarding and Leina might still be there today had she not bumped into an Irish man from Tipperary called Tom Ryan who suddenly entered the stage. This was a man who had no problem speaking passionately about his love for his country. He would talk about its history, its culture and all its achievements. He loved its literature, poetry and its music and spoke proudly of it all.
On her next trip back to Zagreb, Leina couldn’t wait to tell her mother about “this Irish guy” she had met. Her mother was absolutely “not impressed” and advised extreme caution and restraint.
“Those Irish people are the most old-fashioned kind of Catholics. They don’t even have divorce there yet. Besides, it’s such a poor country, with the people living in little cabins and such a thorn in the side of those lovely English people, always making a nuisance of themselves.” Leina loves her mother but despite the heartfelt advice, she left Brussels behind, putting her faith in Tom and his beloved Ireland.
Then came the big move to Tipperary and the Glen of Aherlow, about which she had heard so much. This was mostly a pleasant development and her new husband Tom’s family, though a bit dispersed, offered a good base to begin integration into the community. Her new local town was Tipperary Town, which had its charms and where the people were kind to her.
The economy in the town was not great and opportunities for work and networking were not immediately obvious and needed to be patiently discovered over time. The pace of life was much slower and this required some adjustment from one born and raised in buzzing Zagreb and with memories of Brussels and Dublin still fresh on her mind. It wasn’t that people were in any way hostile, or even unkind, but most people were so engaged in their family circles and established work and social networks that opportunities to integrate did not present often. Even when such opportunities arose, they were not frequent enough to build up lasting bonds of friendship and in the early days Leina often longed for a female friend to sit with, to chat with, maybe to gossip with over a coffee or a glass of wine.

During this period, a certain amount of analysis of her new situation and the people around her was inevitable. Sometimes it is when we are slightly detached or on the margins of our society that we see things most clearly.
Leina was surprised that although the young people, in particular, are very well educated in Ireland, they seem to have very little political awareness which contrasts with their counterparts in Croatia. She thinks perhaps because of our relative prosperity that young people in Ireland have grown up with an innate sense of security, which is great on one level but leads to a lack of engagement in the political and civil process, both locally and nationally.
She feels strongly that this should be addressed, as her Croatian/Balkan experience has shown her that such detachment from politics and the civil process leaves room for unsavoury political elements to creep into our lives. Such groups unchecked, can become influential, and may gain a significant foothold before the public become aware of the danger. We must never say “that could never happen here”. Bad things can happen anywhere if the people let them happen.
Leina’s own political and historical awareness is certainly not in doubt. It stems from her having lived through the dreadful wars in Yugoslavia, when the politics became so complicated and fragmented. “It was such a difficult time, when everyone was labelled as belonging to this group or that, and nobody was allowed to be neutral, no matter how hard they tried.”
Her social network has widened significantly and she has made real progress with the local community and work colleagues, thanks in particular to one good neighbour. Her work as a Social Care Worker is rewarding and there is a definite feeling of doing something of value, and making a positive contribution to society. She enjoys her work but is disappointed with the shortcomings of the HSE saying it’s another example of our willingness to go with the flow, and not engage with our politicians and effect change.

With these positive developments in her life she comfortably now refers to herself as Croatian-Irish. “One shouldn’t have to say I’m Irish or I’m Croatian when obviously we are made up of everything we have done and everywhere we have been.” Her sense of place is not specific to her patch in the beautiful glen of Aherlow or up the road in Tipperary town, but there is definitely a feeling of belonging in County Tipperary and in Ireland.
“Give me any excuse to get into Clonmel to the coffee shops,” she says when I mention a meet up, but at the forefront of her mind is a pending long delayed trip to Zagreb to see her mother who is in poor health. She is very disappointed with the governments “extreme” measures regarding foreign travel restrictions and their abandoning of the airline industry. She feels it is bordering on discrimination against the foreign national community, who in many cases have extremely pressing reasons to travel. These are most often (as in Leina’s case) for family and parental health reasons, and the inability to travel causes great distress.
“Obviously holidays and trips of that type must be restricted, but there are people for whom these trips are no pleasure but a duty which must be done.”
Leina feels that in Ireland although we think that the different regions and cultures are so diverse, they are actually very similar. In Croatia there is a greater diversity of cultures and it is easier to see. On the coastline there is a Mediterranean vibe with Italian influence in food, music and outlook. In the north and around Zagreb there is a continental/ Germanic atmosphere. To the east the culture is still influenced by the historical Hungarian links of the region, and this is seen in every aspect of the people’s lives.
Leina is proud of this cosmopolitan makeup of her country and hopeful for its future. Her parting words are advice to the Irish to be cautious but proactive.
“Recognise the freedoms and privileges we have here in Ireland and be careful not to let them slip away,” she says.
“We have seen throughout the pandemic how easily and quickly laws can be changed or altered when a government is motivated to act.” With her background, this worries her. “In the wrong hands our hard won freedom can be watered down or even taken away if we do not protect it.”
Ten years in Tipperary and no sightings yet of the Fianna warriors or the local flying column, but living in the beautiful Glen of Aherlow steeped in history and nature, there is always something of interest and new trails to follow. Happy in the shadow of the Galtee mountains Leina has a keen sense of place which continues to evolve and develop. Undoubtedly though it is still shared with Croatia and probably always will be.

Vincent Kiely

Vincent Kiely is a writer and storyteller from Moyne near Thurles. He is a carpenter by trade and a lover of what he calls “creative oral storytelling”.
Vincent is currently working on an oral epic Scéalta na Muinig - Stories of the Munstermen, set in the ancient Irish kingdom of Munster.

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