hiː ænd hɪz fˈæmɪli ˈɛmɪɡɹˌeɪɾᵻd tʊ ɔːstɹˈeɪliə ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi sˈɛvən ænd lˈɪvd ɪn mˈɛlbɚn, wˌɛɹ hiː ɹˈoʊt, ɡˈeɪv pˈoʊɪtɹi ɹˈiːdɪŋz ænd bɹˈɔːdkæst ɪn ˈaɪɹɪʃ ɔnðə spˈɛʃəl bɹˈɔːdkæstɪŋ sˈɜːvɪs ɐ nˈɛtwɜːk sˈɛt ˌʌp fɔːɹ spˈiːkɚz ʌv ˈɛθnɪk lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz.
He and his family emigrated to Australia in 1987 and lived in Melbourne, where he wrote, gave poetry readings and broadcast in Irish on the Special Broadcasting Service (a network set up for speakers of ethnic languages).