{"id":3578,"date":"2026-10-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=3578"},"modified":"2026-10-02T13:45:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T12:45:44","slug":"a-bunclody-couple-came-back-from-auckland-when-the-third-child-arrived-and-say-the-only-thing-they-miss-is-the-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/a-bunclody-couple-came-back-from-auckland-when-the-third-child-arrived-and-say-the-only-thing-they-miss-is-the-coffee\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bunclody couple came back from Auckland when the third child arrived and say the only thing they miss is the coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>They left the <strong>Sky Tower<\/strong> behind when their third baby arrived, trading a skyline of glass for <strong>hedgerows<\/strong> and low clouds over Mount Leinster. Home, in their words, was a place where the kettle is always <strong>half-full<\/strong>, and the faces at the door already <strong>know<\/strong> your name.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Why they turned the car toward Wexford<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>By the time their third child cried her way into the world, the sums in <strong>Auckland<\/strong> no longer added up, emotionally or <strong>financially<\/strong>. \u201cWe wanted the noise of cousins, the safety net of <strong>grannies<\/strong>, and the kind of tired that comes from belonging, not from <strong>commuting<\/strong>,\u201d Ciar\u00e1n said.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Rent had climbed, childcare was a <strong>jigsaw<\/strong>, and every hour off felt like a favor you had to <strong>return<\/strong>. \u201cBack here, the babysitter is an <strong>aunt<\/strong>, the neighbour is a lifeline, and the <strong>school<\/strong> run is ten minutes,\u201d Niamh laughed.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>The rhythm they came back to<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>In Bunclody, the days are measured by <strong>weather<\/strong> that changes its mind and a river that never <strong>does<\/strong>. Schoolbags thump the hallway <strong>bench<\/strong>, boots blink mud onto a mat that was never meant to stay <strong>clean<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The local butcher knows the <strong>order<\/strong> before they speak, and the post office keeps a greeting warm for a <strong>late<\/strong> Friday. \u201cWe\u2019d forgotten how rich five minutes can feel when the town says hello in <strong>chorus<\/strong>,\u201d Ciar\u00e1n <strong>said<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>The economics of enough<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>They bought a house that fits two <strong>sofas<\/strong>, three car seats, and the kind of table that begs for <strong>birthday<\/strong> crumbs. It isn\u2019t big by <strong>estates<\/strong> standards, but it is deep in the <strong>ways<\/strong> that count.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Childcare is shared between <strong>grandparents<\/strong>, neighbours, and the kindly chaos of <strong>community<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s not free, but it feels <strong>fair<\/strong>, and our energy isn\u2019t spent guarding the <strong>calendar<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh said.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>What they traded, and what they kept<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>They won many small <strong>freedoms<\/strong>, tied up with twine and handed over the <strong>fence<\/strong>. A few losses still <strong>sting<\/strong>, but the ledger stays <strong>positive<\/strong> most days.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<ul><\/p>\n<li>More time with <strong>family<\/strong>, less time stuck in <strong>traffic<\/strong>  <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li>A mortgage that feels <strong>possible<\/strong>, even if the paint dries <strong>slowly<\/strong>  <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li>Walks that end at a <strong>river<\/strong>, not a retailer\u2019s <strong>queue<\/strong>  <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<li>A pub where the <strong>barman<\/strong> nods, not a barista who knows your exact <strong>order<\/strong><\/li>\n<p>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>The taste that won\u2019t quite come back<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>They say the only thing they <strong>miss<\/strong> is the coffee, and they say it with a half-smile that <strong>lingers<\/strong>. \u201cA good flat white in Auckland could make you believe in <strong>second<\/strong> chances,\u201d Ciar\u00e1n joked, hands warming a cup that was <strong>trying<\/strong> its best.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Back home the brew is sturdy, the milk a shade too <strong>earnest<\/strong>, the crema a little <strong>shy<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned to carry our own beans, but we still talk about that <strong>tiny<\/strong> place off Karangahape Road like it\u2019s a <strong>cathedral<\/strong>,\u201d Niamh said.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Finding new rituals<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Saturday starts with scones, a <strong>pitch<\/strong> on the edge of town, and the weather app lying through its <strong>teeth<\/strong>. The children learn to name <strong>cows<\/strong> and clouds, to run toward cousins like they\u2019re crossing a small <strong>ocean<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Evenings belong to the <strong>fire<\/strong>, a stack of library books, and the kind of silence that hums with <strong>contentment<\/strong>. When the baby stirs, someone always <strong>answers<\/strong>, even if the tea goes cold on the <strong>armrest<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Distance measured differently now<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Friends from Auckland ping the <strong>group<\/strong> chat with photos of beaches and midnight <strong>neon<\/strong>. The couple reply with rainbows over the <strong>Slaney<\/strong>, and a calf born in the field behind the <strong>shed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes I miss the city\u2019s constant <strong>dare<\/strong>, that sense you could reinvent yourself between <strong>bus<\/strong> stops,\u201d Niamh said. \u201cBut I also like knowing the person I\u2019m becoming can find a <strong>parking<\/strong> spot outside her own <strong>house<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>What stays unsaid until it\u2019s clear<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Coming back wasn\u2019t an <strong>escape<\/strong>, it was an <strong>exchange<\/strong>. \u201cWe traded novelty for <strong>roots<\/strong>, surface shine for a deeper <strong>glow<\/strong>,\u201d Ciar\u00e1n said, watching steam knot itself from a <strong>mug<\/strong> toward the still October <strong>air<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>They fold laundry to the sound of <strong>rain<\/strong>, stack kindling like a plan for the next <strong>storm<\/strong>, and answer the door more than they answer <strong>emails<\/strong>. The day may be ordinary, but it is dense with <strong>company<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>The long view from a short road<\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Auckland taught them to move <strong>fast<\/strong>, to chase the next bright <strong>thing<\/strong>. Bunclody teaches them to watch the <strong>light<\/strong>, and to share it when the day gets <strong>thin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe came home for the <strong>chaos<\/strong> and the calm,\u201d Niamh said, the baby finally asleep on her <strong>shoulder<\/strong>. \u201cAnd if anyone opens a caf\u00e9 that nails a New Zealand <strong>flat<\/strong> white, we might never leave the <strong>street<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3578"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3608,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3578\/revisions\/3608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}