When Alice returned home, her sister Mary was visiting the family. Mary asked Alice to come back to England to help care for her children. “It was a hard decision, as I was leaving my family behind,” Alice recalls. Mary bought Alice a ticket for the boat, and she moved into her two-bedroom flat.

Alice’s first job in England was as a cleaner at the Metropolitan Hospital, where she sent £5 a week back home to help her parents. After six months, she began to feel homesick and decided to visit Ireland: “When I went back, I saw a change, all my friends had grown up and got on with their lives. I felt I had drifted apart.” When Alice went back to work, she was called to her boss’s office and was offered a nurse position she said: “I knew then and there that because of my lack of education that wouldn’t be the right path for me, I sometimes regret not taking that offer and letting my lack of confidence get in the way.”

At 20, Alice met her husband Derek while working at the hospital. Once they decided to marry, they travelled to Ireland to seek her dad's blessing. “My husband wasn’t a very religious man, in contrast to my family, who were devout Catholics. My dad was displeased with the marriage and consulted a priest for guidance. However, my mum always adored Derek and wished for our marriage." Before heading back to England, still without her dad's approval, Alice looked him in the eye and urged him to make a decision. His final response was, "You make your bed; you lie in it." Regardless of her father's stance, Alice was certain of her love for Derek and intended to marry him regardless. He was family to her now. 

In 1980, Alice and her family bought their first house for £17,000 in Waltham Abbey. At the time, she was working part-time at a school in Hackney, where her children attended a Catholic school.

Alice’s younger sister, Betty, moved to England when she was 20. I spoke to Betty about how she felt when Alice first moved to England at the age of 19. She said: “She was my best friend, and it was very sad when she left. I missed her terribly, but I was young and knew she was making the right choice.” After 23 years in England, Betty and her husband, John, decided to move back to Ireland. “I had good experiences in both countries and loved every moment and memory I made.”

In the sixty years since leaving Ireland, she's built a full life in England, raising her children, working part-time in a school and forming friendships that have lasted decades. Out of all of her siblings, only Betty is alive, and she tries to go back to Ireland a few times a year.

Alice's departing words were: "I've had many happy years in England, but in my heart, Ireland will always be my home."

Though decades have passed since she first stepped off the ferry, as a young woman of 19, Alice's roots remain strong, bridging two countries, two lives and one enduring sense of belonging.