A French success story for Ennis man John

IN the late-1980s, people left Ireland in their thousands for the UK and the US but the grim times brought at least one Clare man to France.
John Maher left Ennis in 1989 and he now owns and manages self-catering apartments at Disneyland Paris, along with running a shuttle service.
He was part of the last great firesale of young Irish people and he felt that France would a little more interesting than following well-worn paths to the likes of Boston and London.
“It was two years after I’d done the Leaving and they were pretty bad times.
“I had been in college in Limerick and took off to France. Every one else was going to England. At that time, anywhere was better than Ireland.”
He had no French but necessity meant he learned the language very quickly.
“I hadn’t a word but you’d pick it up very quickly when you’re hungry and thirsty. There is a good population of Irish out here and nowadays, with Ryanair, you’re not too far from home.”
Perpignan might not seem like the most obvious of destinations for a young Irishman but John took to it fairly quickly.
“When I came over I went to Perpignan and it was a bit of a culture shock but life was easy there back then. It was easy to find a job, things were cheap and there was a good lifestyle.
“It was a very easy place to live. It would have been a lot easier than being in London or America.”
He spent five years there, teaching English and art, before the lure of one of the world’s great capital cities drew him north.
Now John lives outside Paris with his wife and two young sons, while he earns a living offering accommodation for tourists visiting Disneyland Paris and ferrying tourists there from Beauvais Airport.
While he owns some apartments, he also manages a few for other people and acts as an agent for other property owners.
In Ireland, the tourism industry has seen a sharp decline over the last three years.John says in Paris things are also in decline.
“Something that’s had a big impact is that instead of daily flights coming from Shannon, they’re now just coming a few days a week.
“Hopefully, they’ll be increased again but there doesn’t seem to be much pressure coming on.”
He’s hopeful that business will improve a little in the next 18 months. “Last year was really, really bad but, in fairness, the year before had been brilliant.
“2010 is picking up slowly, I don’t think it’ll be as bad as last year and there are already people booking for next year. I’ve actually had people booking a taxi for November 2011.”
After dipping his toes into the business, he saw the type of opportunity that was there. “I moved down near Disney and I saw the opportunity. I started renting an apartment and then got another and another.
“People were complaining that it was hard to get here from Beauvais and that started me driving them.”
He says he has never seriously considered leaving France and coming back to Clare and says he won’t be going anywhere for another while, at least.
“In the good times, people would have said I should go back but I didn’t think that it would last. I have two boys, one is seven and one is eight so they’re in school and we’ll be here for a while more,” he adds.