Irish Expat Construction Workers Band Together To Deliver Water To Drought-hit Region

As the drought continues to tighten its stranglehold over Australian agriculture, hundreds of Sydney-based Irish expat workers banded together to transport thousands of litres of water to New South Wales.

Australia is now experiencing one of the worst droughts in living memory, threatening livestock, farmers, agriculture and wildlife as well as the Australian economy. Vast swathes of land are bone dry, and there seems to be no relief in sight as yet. Irish expats now living and working in Oz well remember their country’s history and know all about the devastating effects of prolonged droughts, with literally hundreds joining in a rush to transport almost 900,000 litres of life-saving water to the Armidale region in New South Wales.

More than 90 lorries left Sydney early Saturday morning for the 450km trip to farmers and firefighters in the worst affected areas. Christened the ‘Water Run Sydney to Armidale NSW November 23, 2019’, the life-saving convoy was welcomed by firefighters with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, but not before the feat had hit social media and gained huge approval ratings.

In an interview with a local media outlet, leader of the expat Irish heroes Peter McMahon explained that a considerable number of pallets containing bottled water were included in the shipment, adding if the empty bottles were recycled, the affected communities would receive around $50,000. Huge quantities of water were also pumped into the storage dam at Armindale’s airport for the use of firefighting teams.

In addition, once the job was finished, the Irish construction workers hit the town and spent a considerable amount of cash in local pubs, perhaps attempting to simply clear the dust from their throats. A great time, it’s reported, was had by all before they undertook the long road back to Sydney after a job well done.