‘It’s been unsettling’ - Mayo woman on not being able to return to Dubai

Claremorris woman Jayne Hanley and her husband Julian Benson Bailes usually live in Dubai but are in Ireland for the foreseeable future given the escalating situation in Iran.

They were lucky to have been out of the UAE on what was meant to be just a short weekend trip back to Europe when the hostilities erupted.

Jayne had been due to return to Dubai that Monday, however, the United States and Israel began airstrikes against Iran on the Saturday.

It’s just under a month since they moved to their holiday home near Croagh Patrick.

Jayne explains that they are “ just trying to figure out our next steps.”

She is fortunate in her role as a Director with Mastercard that she has been able to link in with the company’s Dublin office and work remotely.

“We were living week to week in the last couple of weeks, which has been unsettling.”

The other complicating factor is that their holiday home is rented out for most of the summer season so they will need to find alternative accommodation.

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“We're in a tricky situation. But I think now, after the address this week [by US President Donald Trump], I think we're probably going more month to month as a plan goes than week to week. It's difficult to say, really. So, it's a tricky one,” Jayne told The Mayo News.

Silver linings

Julian is originally from Sligo and is enjoying his time in Murrisk and smiles as he says, “you could be in worse places.”

The big silver lining in all of this for Jayne is the number of family celebrations that they have been able to join.

“Funnily enough, we've been here for a first birthday party with my nieces, a christening, a funeral, all of these occasions that we hadn't intended on being here for, ironically, so that's been lovely. A bit of a silver lining but it's a strange one to kind of comprehend”, she says.

Bounce back

Julian says the couple are optimistic about returning and notes that the city state has overcome major struggles related to Covid-19 and the financial crisis.

“So we're pretty optimistic they'll bounce back, but it's just a case of when, at that point, we will return. It's just month by month and just kind of waiting it out.”