Donal Skehan has been reflecting on his first year back in Ireland with wife Sophie and children Noah and Ollie, after leaving the US 12 months ago.
The family had been based over in California for four years, but as the Covid-19 pandemic hit, they decided to come back home to Ireland.
Sharing a throwback snap of the day they flew home, Donal said, “This day last year we had packed up our life in LA and in the midst of all the worry and anxiety moved our little crew back to Ireland with Sofie and Arthur Gourounlian.
“My heart is in my mouth looking at these pictures, in the space of a couple of weeks we had wrapped up our life there and it all ended with 30 bags across two ubers driven by fellas in hazmat suits, in a whirl of panic that I think we’re still coming down from.”
View this post on Instagram
He continued, “A year on back home our two little California dudes keep us on track with Noah’s proper Dublin accent coming in thick and fast and Oliver’s first words including “bow” for boat! Even Arthur is all domesticated baking banana bread in Kildare.
“It’s been a weird and unsettled year for everyone but very grateful to be where we are for right now.”
Donal and Sophie couldn’t be happier to be home in Dublin, even if they haven’t been able to see much of their family.
“It’s so lovely to be home and to be close to family and friends, but we can’t wait for there to be less restrictions so that we can see them more frequently and enjoy their company again,” he told VIP Magazine.
“We’ve enjoyed quite a few Zoom quizzes at this stage though! I feel so sorry for Sofie who hasn’t seen her family for more than 18 months now. And no one in her family has met Oliver, that’s tough.”