A Clare native now making her mark in New York, Amie Wiley has become one of TikTok’s most recognisable Irish creators. Since relocating in 2023, her honest, day-in-the-life vlogs have struck a deep chord with the Irish abroad, blending wellness, lifestyle, and culture with disarming authenticity. Her viral poem “Homesickness” captured the bittersweet reality of living far from home and sparked a wave of diaspora stories across TikTok. Through Active with Amie and her work with the Irish Network NYC , she continues to champion community, connection, and the unfiltered Irish experience in the Big Apple.
Q: What inspired you to start sharing your experiences as a Clare native living in New York City on TikTok?
A: I’ve been posting on social media since 2017. I love to create and to share. What started out as wellness and fitness content, over the years, turned into me sharing more about my life and thus the transition into more lifestyle-based content. It was a no-brainer to me when I moved to New York in 2023 to start sharing my day-to-day life as an Irish girl living in the big apple and how I am navigating life in a land far from home!
Q: What has the response been like from your TikTok community, especially from other Irish people abroad or Americans discovering Irish culture through your videos?
A: It’s been amazing! My favourite part of it all has been the messages I get from older followers who tell me they love living vicariously through my content and wish they’d done the same when they were my age. Being able to share my experience of life in New York and give others, especially those who never got the chance, the opportunity to see it through my eyes makes me so happy. The Irish-American culture here is incredibly strong, and I think sharing my perspective as someone who's “as Irish as it gets” offers something fresh for Irish-Americans too. I love bringing a bit of home into everything I do, whether it’s through our beautiful Gaeilge, our ceol, or little pieces of Irish storytelling that shine through my content. I also write poetry,, often about the challenges of living abroad, and it’s been amazing to see how well that’s connected with people on TikTok!
Q: How has TikTok supported your ability to build your business ‘Active with Amie’ and connect with clients from across the Irish and global community?
A: Businesses and TikTok go hand in hand nowadays. It’s been a great marketing tool for me to use for brand awareness.
Q: What role do you think TikTok plays in helping Irish professionals and creatives abroad stay connected to home, or build new kinds of connection? A: I love the vulnerability of tiktok. I always describe it as the platform for raw, unfiltered, facetime-like content and I love that. Living abroad and away from home can be challenging and I see more and more people sharing the human side of moving away from home (myself included). Not just sharing the highlights but the hardships too, TikTok provides a safe space to do so. I feel I can fully be myself on TikTok .
Q: When did you realise that your content was making an impact? Was there a particular TikTok video or viewer comment that made you see you were influencing people’s perceptions of Irish life abroad? A: The first thing that springs to mind is my poem ‘Homesickness’. I wrote it Easter Sunday 2024 because I was having a low day and was missing home. I always write poetry but i never share it but for some reason i decided to share this one with the world. I posted it on TikTok and within a few hours it had gone really viral. Most of the comments were from other Irish people living abroad in various countries around the world and they'd mentioned how much it had resonated and impacted them and that was a lovely moment for me. The poem sound is still used to this day by people sharing videos of their lives abroad and it's heartwarming to watch.
Q: What’s next for you on TikTok? Are there new aspects of your life in the US or Irish culture you’re planning to share with your audience? A: For now it's to continue doing what I'm doing and being a platform that shows my grá for Ireland, but also for NYC too and the amazing opportunities a city like New York can bring to a small-town Irish girl like me!
Q: Are there any Irish TikTok creators or fellow expats you admire who are also sharing their culture or abroad experiences online? A: Doireann Ní Ghlacáin - an incredible figure for irish culture and a great friend of mine.
Q: What do you enjoy most about creating content on TikTok as someone balancing Irish identity, entrepreneurship, and life abroad? A: I’m a very creative person. It fulfills that side of me and it gives the opportunity to show others that anything is possible but not to sugarcoat things! With me you get the real, raw, unfiltered life of an Irish girl navigating life in the states.
Q: You were recently elected as a board member of The Irish Network NYC. How has that community role influenced your work as a creator? A: It has allowed me to use my expertise to help the Irish diaspora in NYC. It's really important to me to give back and be as helpful as I can. Moving to America is a tough and daunting thing to do so whatever way I can help, I will and the Irish network is a great organisation that helps so many expats find their feet and tribe here in the city.
Q: What tips would you give someone looking to build their own TikTok community? A: Be so authentically yourself and enjoy it. I’ve always loved artsy things. Photography, videography, storytelling and the content I curate for tiktok encompasses all that. So, I suppose find what way you enjoy showing up online and lean into that. It's meant to be fun at the end of the day!