This article is from page 37 of the 2009-10-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 37 JPG
WHEN Susanne Matejka came to west Clare for a holiday more than eight years ago, little did she think she would find love and a new life in the town she had intended to stay in for just a few weeks.
The German native came to Kil- rush in 2001 to see the dolphins.
“T went to the information office to look for accommodation and was told that there was the Grove Guest House, and | stayed there with a friend of mine. I got to know a man there, the son. So I came to see the dolphins, met a man and couldn’t get rid of him,” she laughed. “I love it here as well so I didn’t move just for eieervi eae
When she came to Kilrush, she worked as a secretary at the Garda station on a temporary basis, and then as a legal secretary before land- ing her ideal job, which merges her business accruement with her crea- LU AoMCS (6 Kos
The skills and knowledge Susan took from her native home bring an added dimension to her role as cen- tre manager of the Vandeleur Walled Gardens.
She has promoted the role of the café and the skills of the staff work- ing there. Keen for the employees to bake fresh breads, cakes and their famous scones every day, the centre manager has also shared her special recipes for German cakes, adding a new variety to the staple cake. Her interest, she maintains, comes from her great-uncle who was a pastry chef and baker in Berlin.
Having learnt set and céili dancing, Susanne is quick to share her love of belly dancing, giving classes locally and getting involved in local per- Ko) u sek: heleeny
Susanne is one of many European
people to embrace Irish culture and the way of life in west Clare.
Karoly Torok is from Hungary and moved to west Clare with his weaver wife Csilla five years ago.
Kilrush is now home for this young family as they bring an array of tal- ents and new skills to the area, and their work.
They were hoping to live some- where similar to Maine in the USA but closer to Hungary when Csilla moved to Ireland to see if it would suit their needs.
Once she had settled in, Karoly joined her in Kilrush and got a job
as head gardener in the Vandelleur Walled Garden and CE supervisor.
With a masters in agriculture, a horticulture degree and _ business management qualifications, he was well equipped for the job, but said it took him a while to get to grips with everything.
He knew a lot of plants by their Hungarian and Latin names but soon came to know the Irish names, while adding a lot of unusual plants to the garden, which usually grow in the southern hemisphere.
Getting used to the change in staff and the paperwork, which made up
part of the CE supervisor job, was also a challenge at first – now it is erere) 16M OE TREN Ren
Five years on and the couple have settled into the area with their chil- Choe
Karoly explained that it is impor- tant to mix with the Irish people and integrate with the local community, although a lot of their friends are Polish, German, Dutch and Swiss, all of whom share a common bond of beginning a new life in Kilrush.