Personal trainer Mark Molumby, from Laois, first came to Australia in 2005.

When Mark Molumby’s travels took him to Australia for a year in 2005, the Laois man never for a second thought that he would one day become an Australian citizen.

Now seven years on and Mr Molumby was one of 28 proud people of various nationalities who were conferred citizenship at the Onslow Oval in Camden on Australia Day.

As is the story for many Irish expats, finding the love of his life in Australia is the main reason Mr Molumby decided to leave the Emerald Isle for sunnier pastures.

“I was about 11 months into my travels when I met a nice Aussie girl,” explained Mr Molumby.

“Once my year in Australia was up, she decided to come to Ireland with me for a year, and we decided that we wanted to stay together, so I moved back here with her.

Liam Ward, from Tipperary, with his certificate of Australian citizenship.

“If I wanted to have any relationship with my now fiancée I knew had to stay, so I spent some time traveling back and forth between Ireland and Australia, and now I have my citizenship.”

Mr Molumby, who works as a personal trainer said the pair had planned to live in Ireland, but had to change their minds when the economy started to crumble.

“Australia is lovely, but I was thinking that even if I wanted to stay with this girl I want to live in Ireland. But then the move wasn’t viable, there were no jobs or money, so I had to stay here and now I think it’s a fantastic place.”

Also conferred with citizenship on Australia Day was Tipperary man Liam Ward.

Mr Ward, who works as a public servant based in Brisbane, said he decided to move to Australia with his Australian partner in 1999 after falling in love with the country while on a working holiday visa.

“My wife’s grandmother is Irish so she had an Irish passport, and once my year in Australia was up we went home so I could apply for residency, and I have been here since,” said Mr Ward.

Mr Ward said he was initially apprehensive about applying for Australian citizenship.

“I just didn’t want to see myself as a subject of the Queen, when I found out I didn’t have to give up once citizenship to get another, it seemed like a good idea seeing as I had two children here and I had settled here,” he said.

“I applied online and not long after I got a letter telling me when to go in for my interview and test. I had studied the questions very hard thankfully so I wasn’t too nervous about taking the test. Then about four weeks later I got a letter from the immigration minister telling me congratulations I had passed.”

Mr Ward said that while his ceremony went “extremely well and he was delighted to finally become an Australian citizen, he would love to be able to come back to Ireland more.

“We took the kids back to Ireland in 2009, the time of the freezing winter, and they loved it, they loved getting to see some snow. But it is just too expensive to fly four of us back there as often as we would like.”

Mr Molumby added that while gaining Australian citizenship opened a lot of doors for him, he still intends to move home to Ireland when the economy improves.

“I love Ireland, I love the people and the craic, so I definitely see myself moving home one day,” he said.