A video has captured the emotional moment an Irish woman surprised her family with her secret return home from Australia.
Emma Priestley left her hometown of Dublin, Ireland, last July to travel down under, but arrived back home earlier than expected last Friday.
Nobody knew Emma was arriving back apart from her best friend, so the 25-year-old decided to surprise her family by turning up unexpectedly on their doorstep.
Her father Alan, 54, was stunned into silence when he realised who his impromptu visitor was after answering the door.
Alan said ‘You’re joking’ before he shouted through to wife Denise, 53, inside: ‘Denno there’s somebody at the door.’
Emma Priestley left her hometown of Dublin, Ireland, last July to travel down under, but arrived back home earlier than expected last Friday. Pictured: Emma hugging her father, Alan
Alan then stepped outside and embraced his daughter in a tight hug before Emma’s sister Kim, 30, appeared with her newborn baby, as she burst into tears upon seeing her sibling.
Emma was quickly surrounded by her sisters, nephews and mother who all queued up to hug and kiss her.
The majority were left with their hands over their mouths in a combination of both shock and joy.
Emma said: ‘My family were my biggest supporters in my decision even though they knew they would miss me a lot, we are a very close-knit family.
‘I had recently told them that I wasn’t coming home until next year, so it was a complete shock to see me at the front door when I showed up.
‘I decided to move to Australia because I had seen so many other Irish people do it and love it and stayed over there, it’s such an amazing lifestyle and not to mention the weather is amazing.
‘But I also wanted to move for personal growth, I needed to get out of my comfort zone and see what else was out there.
‘I moved to Perth in Western Australia – absolutely beautiful beaches and beautiful people.

Emma was quickly surrounded by her sisters, nephews and mother who all queued up to hug and kiss her. Pictured: Emma (in glasses) with sister Alannah, mother Denise, father Alan and sister Kim

Her father Alan, 54, was stunned into silence when he realised who his impromptu visitor was after answering the door. Pictured: An emotional Alan takes a deep breath as he hugs his daughter
‘Australia is such a long way away and I know we have FaceTime and stuff but it’s hard being away from your family.
‘I was loving Australia but the hardship of doing it on your own was starting to get to me, and then my two sisters have just had two new babies so I decided it was time to come home and not stay for another year.
‘They are never all there on a Friday. I thought it was just going to be my mam but my dad had taken the week off work.
‘My eldest sister and brother-in-law had been away the night before so my mam and dad were minding her two babies so they were there to get the kids and were about to leave.
‘My other older sister had come down with her two babies and my little sister was off work, it was a Friday and no one is ever there on a Friday but the universe worked its magic and had everyone there.

Emma said: ‘Australia is such a long way away and I know we have FaceTime and stuff but it’s hard being away from your family.’ Pictured: Emma (in glasses) with her mother Denise, brother-in-law Glenn, sister Kim, sister Alannah, father Alan and sister Kelly

The majority of her family were left with their hands over their mouths in a combination of both shock and joy

Emma has spent the last ten and a half months in Perth, Australia away from her family. Pictured: Emma holding a Koala bear
‘They were all shocked but so happy to see me – for the rest of the weekend they just kept looking at me and at each other and saying ‘I can’t believe she’s here’.
‘The person recording is my best friend, she knew I was coming home and she’s the one who collected me from the airport to drive me up so I could surprise them.’
Emma shared the heart-warming video online with the caption: ‘The most wholesome video, surprised my family after being in Australia the last 10 and a half months.’
The clip has since received more than 325,000 likes and over 4,000 comments from users left in awe at the family’s touching reunion.
One user wrote: ‘Gosh I cried from the start…10 months, I thought it was 10 years.’





The clip has since received more than 325,000 likes and over 4,000 comments from users left in awe at the family’s touching reunion
Another commented: ‘Dad’s hug shows the relief of knowing he can relax with you being home.’
A third said: ‘For some of us this is a dream. To be loved that much must feel unbelievable.’
Another penned: ‘The sobbing before they even saw you properly.’
A fifth replied: ‘Beautiful. love how the end just cuts when nanny is about to give a few F’s to whoever filmed it for keeping the secret! Family is everything.’
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