Irish acting sensation and L.A. waiter Gavin O Ferraigh (Video still by Melissa Runnels/Neon Tommy)

Little old women berate Gavin O Fearraigh on the street for the misdeeds of Conall Daly, the character he played for five years on the popular—in Ireland—Gaelic-language soap opera Ros na Rún. He competed on Eurovision Dance Contest in 2008, and placed first in 2007 on Irish television’s reality show Celebrity Jigs ’n’ Reels.  Now, he’s joined the ranks of the many actor-model-waiters of Los Angeles.

He’s also one of the many younger Irish leaving their country once again to find work abroad.

After its rapid expansion from 1995 to 2007, Ireland’s economy became the first eurozone country to officially enter recession during the financial crisis in 2008.

The causes of Ireland’s crisis were not that different from those in the United States. At its simplest, the problem boiled down to an overheated housing market propelled by loose banking regulations and bank scandals suddenly cooling down. The subsequent loss of consumer wealth and confidence, in tandem with a worldwide downturn, ended the boom years.

In Ireland’s case, total gross domestic product contracted by approximately 14 percent between 2008 and 2010. Unemployment rose from an average of almost 11 percent in the 1980s and ‘90s to 14.5 percent in early 2011, according to figures released by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office. Unemployment stood at 14.3 percent as of April 2012.

In comparison, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that American unemployment peaked at 10 percent in October 2009 and had leveled out at 8.1 percent as of Friday.

What that has meant for the Irish is the return to a tradition of emigration.

O Fearraigh (pronounced "O’Farry") is 31 years old, slender, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes that shift swiftly between amusement and wariness. He's in many ways an unusual emigrant. He left Ireland because he wanted to test himself in the bigger pool of the L.A. film scene. It’s never easy being an actor, even in the best of times. Being an Irish actor with a strong accent makes it that much harder.

The fact that he’s in the U.S. at all adds to his unique circumstances. During the last year, most Irish emigrants have gone to the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2011, 76,400 Irish emigrated to those countries alone. In contrast, roughly 4,400 came to the U.S.

That’s due in part to the increasing scrutiny of all visitors and immigrants after 9/11, according to L.A.-based immigration attorney Paul Cass. It’s also a result of the immigration deals packaged into free trade agreements like NAFTA. There are several visas tied to trade agreements with specific countries, Cass said, but not yet with Ireland—though one may be coming soon.

In 2011, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Scott Brown, R-Mass., introduced the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which includes a trade agreement visa program for Ireland, capped at 10,500. With strong support in Ireland and from the Irish-American community in the U.S., the bill passed the House but has not yet cleared the Senate.

By contrast, the European Union has already made it easy for citizens of member nations like Ireland to travel and work within the EU and the U.K., including Australia. That makes it much more likely that an Irish citizen going abroad for work won’t come to the States.

So when O Fearraigh’s friends in Ireland heard his plans to come to L.A., they weren’t quite sure why he would leave a steady job at the soap for the uncertainty of acting in America. And while he does get acting work, he's also employed as a waiter at a Mexican-themed bar on the Sunset Strip to make sure he’s covered when the acting gigs are scarce.

Even though he’d give it up in a heartbeat, “It’s not really an option to not wait tables,” O Fearraigh said. To keep expenses down, he shares his apartment with a dancer.

O Fearraigh’s visa will be up in less than a year. He has two options: He must either apply for and receive a green card, which would give him permanent residency,  or return to Ireland.

While the soap, Ros na Rún, could potentially write his character back into the plot, the Irish TV and film industries have suffered as a result of the downturn.  There are no guarantees.

“Things are a lot more difficult now," O Fearraigh said. "They’ve tightened up in a lot of things, so even acting in Ireland is becoming [hard to find]”.

If he does decide to go home, many of the people he knows have gone to Australia.  Ireland was the tenth largest contributor to Australian immigration in 2010.

“Ireland’s a different place now," O Fearraigh said. "Talking to all my friends at home, a lot of them now have emigrated. I think right now they’re going to where work is.”

The Irish economy may already be improving—slightly. A March report from the CSO recorded a 0.7-percent increase in GDP for 2011, mostly fueled by increases in industrial output, excluding building and construction. Ireland also posted a trade surplus of $3.5 billion euros in February of this year.

But it will take some time for an economy with 14.4 percent unemployment to feel the benefits of improving numbers.

Meanwhile, even small, remote places like Gaoth Dobhair, O Fearraigh’s hometown, are feeling the lingering effects of the economic crisis.

Gaoth Dobhair, or Gweedore, is in the far northwest of Ireland, an historically poor area that relied on fishing for its survival. Its poverty saved the town's traditions—no one really bothered with it, so Gaelic language and culture were left intact.

But culture doesn’t necessarily equal money or jobs.

“Even in Gaoth Dobhair now, everything’s closing down,” O Fearraigh said. “All the restaurants have closed, all the local pubs have closed, and the pharmacy—even the local pharmacy’s shut down.”

Residents have to go to the nearest small city, 40 miles away, to find these services.

So while O Fearraigh situation in the U.S. may be at times less than ideal, it may be better than the alternative. Back home, the jobs—acting or otherwise—aren’t so plentiful. With one year to secure his green card or go back home, he faces the same insecurity migrants with fewer options face.

How that all sorts out depends on things beyond his control: the changeable labyrinth of immigration law in the States, and whether the economy improves both here and in Ireland. O Fearraigh, like most emigrants, can only keep moving forward while waiting for the pieces of his dream to fall into place.

But the handsome actor said it's worth it. “I want to look back as an old man and be able to say I did it.”

Reach Contributor Melissa Runnels here. mailto:honig5@yahoo.com