Former Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh reveals what working in Australian mines is really like
The Donegal native, 30, moved to Perth in March last year with her fiancé Ryan Coleman.
Former Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh traded in her tiara for a hard hat as she has lifted the lid on what it's like working in Australia's mines.
The Donegal native, 30, moved to Perth in March last year with her fiancé Ryan Coleman. She joins the estimated 10,600 Irish people who moved Down Under in the 12 months leading up to April 2024.
This was a 126% increase from the previous year and the highest level of emigration to Australia since 2013. While Grainne has since returned home to Ireland to prepare for her upcoming wedding, in recent months she has been sharing what her life in the mines is like.
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She has told her thousands of followers what FIFO (fly in, fly out) jobs are really like, and if the lucrative money is worth the hardship. Sharing her experience online, the truck driver said while the work can be tough, she would recommend it to anyone.
Grainne said: "I was so nervous about starting this job and how I would be received in an environment where I had no idea what I was doing, and it was mostly men. But I was so pleasantly surprised; they have genuinely been so unbelievably patient, helpful, kind, and have made me laugh every single day. And the girls have been a dream."
Irish people looking to obtain a second working holiday visa in Australia must complete 88 days of work in a rural area within their first year. While Grainne and her partner initially enrolled in FIFO work to fulfil this requirement, they decided to stay past the 88 days because they were enjoying it so much.
The model said the biggest pros were that she saved a lot of money, and the extensive time off allowed her to travel. While the beauty queen said her time as a truck driver was the first time she “didn’t have an ounce of anxiety or stress” going to work, there were also some downsides.
In a candid Q&A on Instagram, Grainne admitted that the long shifts, especially in the gruelling summer heat, along with the bugs and flies were some of the setbacks of the job. However, the Donegal native said she highly recommends mining work for any Irish people setting themselves up Down Under.
She said: “It's not easy to leave your family and what you know, especially if you love it at home and have a great job and you're surrounded by your family, it's never easy. [But] Australia's great and I love it, the weather is amazing. You need to go into it with a with a bit of a realistic mindset, and a plan.”
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