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Irish Examiner
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
For those who stick it out, Australia can be a home and make you feel lucky
Two weeks back, I took myself on a pre-date date to my favourite bar in Melbourne, with nothing but the book I'm reading. I wouldn't dream of doing this in my hometown of Clonakilty. I'd be mortified at the thought of someone I know seeing me and thinking I'm unpopular, or an alcoholic or an unpopular alcoholic. There's a never ending eclectic list of activities I couldn't fathom doing in case one of the 5,000-ish people in my town 'see me'; like going for a run on a country road, doing an open mic night, going to SuperValu without my mother for back-up. Friends and I agree that it's very embarrassing to simply exist in a small Irish town and passionately tried to explain this to our Sydney-born friend around a table one night. She couldn't understand it. We had to show her 'the' tweet. [For those who have never seen 'the' tweet - by a user called Janky_Jane, it reads '"Props to anyone who tries to be fashionable in Ireland I wore a red beret once in Waterford and someone called me super mario"] Props to anyone who tries to be fashionable in ireland i wore a red beret once in waterford and someone called me super mario — Jane (@janky_jane) August 15, 2021 Sitting in the Melbourne bar alone, having released my inhibitions reading The Story Of A New Name — which feels apt given the central topic of this article — I hear the sweet lilt of a Donegal accent. I train my ears as two men gulp their pints. They're on a man friend date. I can tell by the body language. Someone has definitely set them up and they'll likely need to murder 12 additional pints to get through the excruciation of building a home-away-from-home community as an adult. I know they're new to each-other by the way they're speaking. The three questions; 1. When did you move over yourself? 2. Why did you move then? 3. Do you love it, do you think you'll stay? I've heard the same vital ingredients rattled off to these questions every time, outside nightclub toilets, at picnics, in smoking rooms, around kitchen tables; 'yeah, on the working holiday', 'sure you can't beat the good weather', 'the pay is way better isn't it', 'the work/life balance is incredible', 'the rental situation in Dublin is just shocking isn't it.' Melbourne. Some settlers have been dreaming of moving to Australia since they were 10. Photo: Hannah Kingston It always, always, comes back to and amounts to the lifestyle. The living is easy in the lucky country. It's a country that instigates expansion. When I moved here five years ago, I was only going to stay for six months. I was hyper-fixated on getting a mortgage with my boyfriend. Now I'm a lesbian with no savings. I'm the happiest I've ever been. I smile warmly at the lads as I walk out of the bar, trying to say 'I'm Irish too' with my eyes. Outside it's balmy and in a flash I am transported to Fade Street, standing outside Hogans. The only accents I hear among the plumes of the crackling vapes are Irish. For a brief second my body and brain run away, it feels exactly like those first six months in Dublin. Glamorous, progressive, exotic. I need to shake my head out of the daydream. A first. A Melbourne bar that is not sporting Irish flags and hurleys accommodating more Irish than Australians. For a second, the remnants of that teenage feeling, swiftly looking around the bar to see if there's anyone I know. Hoping that no one spotted me and thinks I'm an unpopular alcoholic. A pro-Palestine protest in Melbourne. Photo: Hannah Kingston Tá eagla orm that I'll get bullied online for being narcissistic enough to think that my emigration experience is a universal one, so I spoke to 25 Irish folk to pick out some common themes which correspond to over 100,000 people born on the Emerald Isle now residing in the Land Down Under. Some settlers have been dreaming of moving to Australia since they were 10. They say post-homework Home and Away might have had something to do with it. Others have deep family roots, speaking of great aunts who were put on a ship in the 1930s. Some flew the nest for a partner. Lots spoke of better job opportunities, enhanced lifestyles. Many simply feared missing out. All were and are curious about the world around them. There are undeniable perks; no offence to the wonderful Australians I know who speak of the housing crisis but the statement itself will elicit an eye roll from most of us Irish. I currently live in a two-bedroom apartment, a 20-minute walk from the nice side of the CBD with a monthly rent of €1,085. I used to pay €1,000 for a bedroom in a six-bed house in Dublin. I lived with five carnivorous men in a hostel-style environment. The house constantly smelled of frying meat. Before that I lived in an attic that the wifi couldn't reach, you could only stand up straight in the doorway (I'm 5'4). Melbourne. I spoke to 25 Irish folk to pick out some common themes which correspond to over 100,000 people born on the Emerald Isle now residing in the Land Down Under. Photo: Hannah Kingston I woke up once with a neck like a tree trunk when a wasp nest broke free from the attic's insulation and did their worst before dying all over my room. I was sweeping little wasp corpses for weeks. Between wasp and steak house, I lived in a 'house' with damp, blackened mouldy wallpaper. I don't know what was worse, the wallpaper or my housemate who used to cover a margarita pizza in mayonnaise and smoked salmon and would then microwave it. Microwave it. You can't put a price on positive mental health and I will never be able to rid myself of that visual, that smell. To save for the big move to Australia I needed to make my rent cheaper again so I moved into a room that contained a single bed only; when I opened the door, it hit the single bed. I genuinely think it used to be a hot press. To create a disposable income in Dublin, you need to make yourself as small as possible, forfeit things on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I will never speak ill of my time living in the capital because it was the first time I didn't feel embarrassed to exist as per my late teenage years. That being said, interning at a newspaper, waitressing at night to pay rent and writing a thesis between shifts in the hope of getting a cool media job almost broke me into three pieces. Hannah Kingston: 'I'm not surprised there are enough Irish in Australia to fill Limerick city.' The situation of the boring admin things like having a stable place to live, getting paid enough money to be able to purchase enough healthy food for the week does matter. When you're working all the hours in the world and you still have to think about the financial consequences of going to the cinema on a Wednesday, it will age you beyond your years. I'm not surprised there are enough Irish in Australia to fill Limerick city. Reporting from the ground you can see it and hear how joyful it is to be a 26-hour flight away and see Aussies jumping up and down at Kneecap, swaying to Fontaines DC and screaming 'I love you Ciara' at CMAT. For those who stick it out to see what happens, it can be a home, make you feel lucky.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Meet the three men behind EndureMKE, a training group devoted to helping Black men prioritize their health
What started as a meetup among three friends to do a three-mile run to the lakefront turned into an endeavor to help Black men be more proactive about their health. EndureMKE was born from conversations that friends Sharaka Berry, Carnell Hogans and JaQai Ali had about breaking the generational cycles contributing to poor health among Black men. The group wants to normalize Black men prioritizing their health by providing a safe space to learn about fitness and mindfulness, while supporting them on their own health journeys. All three knew each other from their work in the community. They often heard talk about Black men needing to make lifestyle changes but rarely saw any action behind it. So they took matters into their own hands. From left, Ja Qai Ali, Sharaka Berry and Carnell Hogans do pull-ups while working out with their group, EndureMKE, a Black men's exercise group on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, at Riverside High School. They got together Sundays at Reservoir Park to do pushups and squats, followed by that three-mile run. Afterwards, they practice mindfulness, sitting cross-legged in the grass, meditating on the lakefront, focusing on breath work. Sometimes on Saturdays, they do night runs on the Oak Leaf Trail. That was last September. 'It was months ago that we had this conversation,' said Ali, 24, an organizer with WestCare, a nonprofit social service organization. 'It was really divine how just, at the drop of a hat, we were able to initiate this (and) to not only maintain consistency but to build on it the way we have over the past months." Now they meet at Riverside University High School's track. And what started with three guys exercising has grown into something more. They've done health and wellness talks at a high school and partnered with Nearby Nature to expose more Black men to the outdoors with nature walks at Havenwoods State Forest. Between five to 10 men work out with the group Sundays. (Check EndureMKE's Instagram for the schedule.) The trio envisions growing EndureMKE to offer more school and corporate wellness programs as well as create branded fitness events. The group's name goes beyond physical exercise — it also personifies what Black men endure in society. 'We've been training and conditioning ourselves to meet and overcome all obstacles in our path for a long as we've been in this city,' Ali said. 'This is us putting a slogan or a title on an initiative to build mental, physical, spiritual fortitude necessary for young Black men in the city of Milwaukee.' Each of the three founders brings something different to the group. Berry is the running captain, Ali is the calisthenics coach and Hogans focuses on mindfulness. Hogans said it's important for Black men to learn to unplug from the calamity of life and just be in grass. 'The biggest thing is getting as many Black men aware of holistic wellness through nature and physical activity,' said Hogans, 26, an early childhood facilitator with Fathers Making Progress, a nonprofit supporting fathers. Three different personal health journeys put the men on this path. At some point in their lives, all were overweight. For Ali, it started when he was a 5-foot-4, 210-pound eighth-grader. As he got older, he shed the weight through different activities, whether healthy or unhealthy. As an adult, Ali became more health-conscious. Then the pandemic came. Housebound and idle old habits resurfaced, especially around food. Once he saw the impact food was having on him, he challenged himself to eat fruits and vegetables for seven days. 'The difference was night and day,' Ali said. He had more energy — physically and mentally. And one day, he ran to Marshall High School from his Hampton Avenue home and then did several laps around the track. 'I've never done that before. In fact, I hated running,' Ali said. 'When I realized the impact that had on me, that stuck. I understood I needed to make a change in my life.' Hogans, too, had an unhealthy relationship with food. During the pandemic, he weighed 225 pounds. He endured a lot of hardships and heartbreaks. Food became therapy. 'Food was my drug,' he said. Through meditation, Hogans realized his unhealthy emotional attachment to food. He started fasting. That turned into vegetarianism and now veganism. He now weighs 140 pounds. Hogans started researching food production and was alarmed about the chemicals in food, like trisodium phosphate, a food additive that doubles as a cleaning agent. That, he said, contributes to the health disparities in communities of color. Members from the group EndureMKE, from left, Camron Smith, Ja Qai Ali, Shawn Mitchell, Sharaka Berry (kneeling), Deangelo Lee, Carnell Hogans and Jordan Lipsey on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, at Riverside High School. 'It is a biochemical warfare because of the foods we are indulging in,' Hogans said. Long-distance running became Berry's origin story to a healthy lifestyle. The Chicago native ran long stretches to escape a negative home environment. One day, Berry ran from Chicago's South Shore neighborhood to downtown and back. 'Just really running off anger,' said Berry, who works at Food For Health. 'It was not like this was an exercise thing. I just started running. I just felt a lot better.' When he moved to Milwaukee in 2018 and, without any training, Berry, 29, started doing marathons, a challenge brought on by a broken leg. But life and a stressful job in social services packed back on the pounds and affected Berry's mental health. He found solace in running again. He did a marathon and a triathlon in 2023, and stepped away from the group to train for the Madison Half Ironman. Berry hopes EndureMKE could be a springboard to get more Black men running, especially in marathons and triathlons. 'Black men in the running space is not there,' he said. 'I cannot think of a time seeing two or more brothers running together, just jogging. I want to change that visually.' La Risa Lynch is a community affairs reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Email her at llynch@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Endure MKE training group in Milwaukee prioritizes Black men's health
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
St. John man jailed for convenience store shooting
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A St. John, Missouri, man has been charged for a shooting last week at a local convenience store. According to the St. John Police Department's probable cause statement, the shooting occurred on Sunday, April 20, at St. John Market just off St. Charles Rock Road. Police said Kyle Hogans entered the store while armed with a .40 caliber pistol. Hogans got into an argument with someone in the store, took out the pistol, and shot that person. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his right arm, which shattered his humerus, police said. The victim was hospitalized but the bullet was lodged in his chest and could not be recovered. Federal charges filed in well-known Wildwood cat-hoarding case The probable cause statement did not indicate if the victim was an employee or customer at the store. The shooting was captured on surveillance video. Investigators recovered three .40 caliber casings from the store. Police said Hogans drove away in his mother's 2002 Chevrolet Suburban. A detective familiar with Hogans recognized him in the surveillance video. Police executed a search warrant at Hogans' home and the Suburban on April 23. Police said they found the sweatshirt Hogan wore at the time of the shooting and recovered a broken Glock magazine and several .40 caliber bullets in the vehicle. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Hogans with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Hogans was jailed on a $150,000 cash-only bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
