Finding freelance work in Ireland

At a Local Enterprise Office event in 2019

Is it easy or difficult to find freelance work in Ireland?

I think it’s impossible to give a straightforward answer because it all depends on which industry you currently work in and how long you have been living in Ireland.

I am using my own experience as an example but of course there are so many factors at play when you are a freelancer.

First of all, I continued working with the same clients I used to have back when I lived in London, UK. Then, as I started to settle in Ireland, I realised that I really needed to do some serious networking if I wanted to gain some local clients.

Let’s look back at how my freelance career in Ireland has shaped up so far. For the sake of brevity, even though I moved to Ireland at the end of 2018, I am counting 2019 as year one.

Year one: finding my feet

In 2019 I decided to attend local business networking events. In my county, Westmeath, you have the Local Enterprise Office, Athlone Chamber and Enterprise Ireland which organise business networking events on a regular basis.

During one of these events I met with a company which then became my client. We collaborated for a few months and I wrote a number of articles for their website.

Meanwhile, I was still continuing to work with my existing clients from when I lived in the UK.

Year two and three: the world shuts down

2020 and 2021 were characterised by global lockdowns and Ireland took a cautious approach towards reopening activities. In 2021 I lost a contract, broke a leg falling down the stairs at home (which didn’t help in general with running a freelance activity), but also gained a new international client. I still work with that international client today writing articles.

Year four: keeping up the pace

I was doing more networking in 2022 and I also joined the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival committee (you can read about it here). This opened up many opportunities for networking as this festival is a high profile event that gets national coverage in the media.

I appeared in a live programme with the national broadcaster RTÉ (I’m the one in the pink jacket)

Year five and six: ticking along nicely

In 2023 and 2024 I kept working with my existing clients and had occasional ad hoc writing projects.

In 2024 I started doing more side hustles including online translations.

Year seven: always networking

In 2025 I am focusing on expanding my network of contacts, getting more visibility locally by engaging with independent businesses and generally being very active on social media.