Boidu Sayeh to tell his story on TG4 series later this week

The story of Westmeath GAA star, Boidu Sayeh, who moved from Liberia to make his home in Westmeath will be featured in this week's episode of Éire Nua on TG4, which examines what life is like in Ireland for the "new Irish.".

The programme, which airs this Thursday night, October 7, at 9.30pm sees presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin travel to the village of Rosemount, outside Moate, to meet with Boidu and hear how he has adapted to living in Ireland after he left his home in Liberia in search of a better life when he was still a child.

Viewers will hear him explain how his father made the decision to send him to Ireland after his mother had passed away when he was just six years old.

“It was an easy decision for him because he knew I was going to be safe here and he knew I was going to live a way better life,” Boidu tells presenter, Hector, from his home in Rosemount.

Boidu admits that Ireland was “a huge culture shock” when he first arrived, but says he is very grateful for the welcome he received and the opportunities he has been able to avail of as a result of moving to Ireland.

While he says he is never going to forget his past and his history, he agrees that he is “more Irish than Liberian” as he has lived in Ireland a lot longer than in his native Liberia.

The second episode of “Hector – Éire Nua” will be screened on TG4 this Thursday night, October 7, at 9.30pm.

Next week's episode sees Hector return to Westmeath once again to meet with Malaysian-born chef, Revi Valayudan, who is originally from Dovenby in Malaysia, but who has been living in Athlone for the past 21 years.

The fully-qualified chef had a friend who was working in the Hodson Bay Hotel, so Athlone was his first port of call when he arrived in Ireland and he has never left!

Revi says he wanted to move from Malaysia “to discover different foods” and after working in the Hodson Bay Hotel for eight years he transferred to various other hotels in the Athlone area before finally settling in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel.

In his spare time he likes to walk every day, in all weathers, and he also enjoys reading, cooking and watching Malaysian movies, which he prefers over Western movies.

As a nod to his Malaysian culture, Revi and his friends like to prepare a big feast of their traditional food as often as they can and they particularly look forward to the Asian/Chinese New Year and Ramadan when they have big celebrations.

Among the interesting facts that Hector Ó hEochagáin learned about Revi Valayudan is that he loves Irish dancing and set up an Irish dancing event in Athlone in 2002. Bacon and cabbage is “hands down” his favourite Irish meal and some of his co-workers and Irish friends speak Irish and are teaching him the “cúpla focal.”