Oscar (Slovakia)

OSCAR Brophy is a Ballyheigue native that has been living under lockdown conditions in his adopted home of Slovakia for over a month now. He says that these strict conditions have meant the country has fewer cases than others.

In 2016 I relocated from Ballyheigue to Bratislava, Slovakia.

I have also spent a few months living in Prague, where my son, Michael, was born last year.

As an English teacher and stand-up comedian, the virus and lockdown has turned my life upside down. Instead of commuting to my language school in the morning, I commute from my bed to my desk to hop on a group call, and instead of going to comedy shows in the evenings, I stay at home.

Travelling from Bratislava to Vienna takes just 50 minutes by train, which is less than half the time it takes to get to Cork from Tralee (in case you’re wondering, Cork is better than Vienna). I would travel two or three times a month to Vienna for comedy shows, but this is now impossible as most countries in Europe have closed their borders. I’d liken it to Iron Curtain times.

We’ve been locked down for over a month now, and the city of Vienna currently has three times the cases this country has, so we seem to be doing okay.

The latest measure introduced is the blocking of all internal travel for six days over the Easter period.

Easter in Slovakia involves the men and boys of the village “trick or treating” house to house, slapping the women inside with willow whips and throwing water on them. The women then give the men money. Maybe a bit of peace and quiet will do the women of Slovakia some good?

Ballyheigue native Oscar Brophy describes to us what life has been like living under lockdown in Slovakia.