Huron Expositor, 2015-12-16, Page 1010 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Irish man tells story of farm life
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
Just north of Seaforth, off
Highway 12 is Eckerlea
Acres Limited, a family farm
that welcomes global
labourers. Irish farmer,
Liam Griffin who speaks
with a strong accent is
among the foreign travelers.
Arriving on Huron
County soil last May on an
employment Visa, the
23 -year-old did not have
any preconceived ideas
about Canada other than a
few things recognized by
most people of the free
world.
"I knew it was cold and
you all said eh," stated Grif-
fin. The observation was
followed by a burst of
laughter in the staff accom-
modation bungalow.
"My friends were saying,
(I would) come back like a
complete Canadian."
Farming since he was
14 -years -old in the thick
rural landscape of County
Clare, Ireland, the 5000 km
temporary move was far
from a culture shock,
except for the layout. Grif-
fin was asked if it looked
the same as Ireland? "Oh
hell no, there's all straight
roads here, back home, it's
all winding roads," Griffin
explained.
"(Here) there will be flat
land for miles, in (Ireland)
it might only be a mile and
then I'll be looking up the
hill."
Besides the long broad-
ened level of agricultural
countryside, this felt like
his original stomping
grounds, minus the skunks
and raccoons he said. He's
working seven days a week
for the most part and is
responsible for the con-
stant changes of the ani-
mals straw bedding. More
often than not, his day
starts at 5 a.m. and goes
right through to the
evenings.
"The way I look at it is I
won't get this much work
for a long time," stated Grif-
fin, also adding that finding
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a job at this time is difficult
where he comes from.
Currently Ireland's
unemployment rate is
roughly 9 per cent, a num-
ber that is the lowest since
2008 according to Trading
Economics. "More like
three times that number,"
remarked Griffin.
Dressed in ranch attire,
blue jeans, work boots and
a John Deere hat, Griffin's
passion is not just the farm
life. In his free time in Ire-
land, he takes pleasure in
pushing his two -door Toy-
ota Starlet to maximum
speeds A coupe he says is
"light," but has a "big
heart." He has modified it
to drive faster by installing
a larger Honda engine
inside.
"The way you have big
trucks here, we got small
looking cars," he said.
"The reason we don't
have the big trucks is
because we cannot afford
the price of gas," Griffin
commented. In addition he
said the cost of fuel is twice
as much as that in Canada.
At this present time his
car is in the shop and he
will be reunited with it this
May when his Visa expires.
He has currently requested
an extension to stay longer
in Canada, but still has not
had confirmation to date.
Shaun Gregory
Liam Griffin, 23, from Ireland is one of the many international farmers that work for Eckerlea Acres
Limited in Seaforth.
SeafoMh
,Huron Expositor
Happy Holidays
from the staff at
Seaforth Huron Expositor
Dianne, Nancy, Shaun & Anne 1(