Offaly's Keira will be spending Christmas in the Australian mines

Keira Meacle, from Clonad, Tullamore, is spending her third Christmas in Australia this year. Keira answered these questions from the Offaly Independent about her life 'Down Under' and what this Christmas will be like for her.

How did your move to Australia come about?

I have always wanted to move to Australia and, when my best friend Nancy said she wanted to go, I had the same feeling

Where in Australia are you living, and what to you do there?

I’m currently living in Perth and I work up north in the mines.

What are the best and worst things about life in Australia?

The best thing about Australia is the weather and the beaches. The worst thing is fly season, and cockroaches - horrible things!

What are your plans for Christmas Day this year?

This will be my third Christmas in Australia. The first year I spent Christmas doing regional work on a horse farm in Melbourne, the second year it was spent on Bronte beach in Sydney, and this year my Christmas Day is being spent up north, working in 42 degree heat in the mines.

Our Christmas dinner will be a seafood platter of lobster, oysters, crab... the whole of the ocean will be on ice. No turkey and ham with all the trimmings this year.

What are some of the things you will miss about Christmas in Ireland?

On Christmas morning, going to wake everyone up and Mammy having the dinner already started from 6am...

What message would you like to send to your friends or family reading this?

To my family and friends, including my mother Fiona, my little brother Eóghan, my father Seamus, and my Step Dad Bert, my message is that I love and miss them and hope they have a magical Christmas.