Ukranian Voices From Ireland

Marina chats to Trina Mara about leaving Ukraine with her mother as her town was occupied by the Russians.  Her two brothers are soldiers fighting in the war.  Marina has lost many friends who have died during the war.  

Michael speaks to Trina about leaving Ukraine unaccompanied at the age of 17, how he worries about his family and his big plans to work hard in Ireland

18-year-old Mykola Rubliuk chats to Trina Mara about moving to Ireland 9 months ago.  He came here with his mother who misses her husband who is back in Ukraine.  

18-year-old Mykola Rubliuk is a youth leader at the Lisdoonvarna Youth Cafe. It's a place where teenagers ages 13-18 cam come to meet friends, gain knowledge and skills and find something to their liking.  The main goal of the project is to create a safe place where each teenager is respected and accepted. The youth cafe has many master classes, for example, cooking, DIY, growing plants aswell as trips for the teenagers to festivals, surfing courses.  There is also training in self-development, self-confidence and mental health.  The cafe opens 5 days a week from 4pm to 9pm.  

16-year-old Daria Rudkovska chats to Trina Mara about her involvement with the Lisdoonvarna Youth Cafe, how she was welcomed to Ireland and the challenges of living in a hotel room for over 2 years.  

Oksana tells Trina about moving to Ireland with her husband and 3 young children.  Ukrainian law states the men can leave if they have three or more young children.  She asked for help on Facebook and received a number of offers with a place to stay in Ireland 

Oksana moved to Ireland from Kharkiv, Ukraine after the Russian invasion and tells us about her experience of living here with her family.  She was living only 30 kilometres from the Russian border.      

Artist and art teacher Yana Koretska from Kremenchuk, Ukraine tells Trina Mara about her experience of living in Ireland  She tells us about her well-being workshops https://yanakoretska.art/art-workshops

Yana Koretska came to Ireland after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.  In Part One, she tells Trina about her career as an artist and how she has been welcomed by her host family.  Her mother and 11-year-old sister decided to stay in Ukraine.   Instagram - yanessa_ukrainian.artist www.yanakoretska.art

Ivan Soraka chats to Trina Mara about the realities of having family members still living in the thick of the war in Ukraine.  

Ivan Soraka chats to Trina Mara about moving to Ireland at a young age and how his parents adapted to life in Ireland 

Ivan Soroka chats to Trina Mara about his Ukrainian parents and what it was like moving to Ireland at the age of six.     

Alla Mikhnova chats to Trina Mara about the Russian invasion and how her husband is still in Ukraine.  She checks the news every morning to see what has happened overnight.  

Reporter Eoin Glackin chats to Fr.Vasyl Komitsky from Donnycarney Church in Dublin.  He came here from Ukraine in 2012 and has been working closely with the local Ukrainian community.  

Reporter Eoin Glackin spoke with Ukrainian priest Father Vasyl Kornitsky of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Donnycarney, Dublin. Fr Vasyl came to Ireland in 2012. He told us about how his job changed after the war broke out. 

Alla Mikhnova speaks to Trina Mara about her life in Ireland after fleeing the war in Ukraine with her two children.  

Alla Mikhnova speaks to Trina about leaving her husband behind in Ukraine to stay with his mother as she came to Ireland with her two sons after her town was occupied on the first day of the war.  She told us how her children have struggled as a lot of their friends are now living in other European countries. 

Sergiy Balan's 22-year-old nephew was killed on the first day of occupation by the Russians.  Sergiy's mother, who is 82, has said she is too old to travel and "better to die in her own hometown".  

Sergiy Balan is the Chairman of the Association of Ukrainians in Ireland.  He tells Trina Mara about how lost he was when he came to Ireland over 20 years to learn English.   www.ukrainians.ie

Radion tells us about the printing business he has started in Ireland since fleeing the war 2 years ago   www.steekaz.ie

Radion chats to Trina about starting a small family printing business in Ireland since they fled the war in Ukraine. They do a huge range of printing to include promotional / marketing merchandise for businesses, pop-up banners, vehicle branding, even residential house number plates. www.steekaz.ie

We've been chatting to Radion about his journey from Ukraine and how he came to be in Ireland with his family

Trina Mara continues chatting to Radian about how he fled the war in Ukraine with his wife and 2 young children.  He explained how many of his neighbours and friends didn't leave as they couldn't leave elderly parents behind.   He explains the long drive he took with his children before they could reach his wife near the border.      

Radion speaks to Trina Mara about how he came to be in Ireland.  He fled the war with his young children as the area around their home was destroyed and his wife was in another part of Ukraine grieving the loss of her mother.   They were in the middle of setting up a business in their hometown when they were forced to leave for their children's safety and have now set up that same business here in Ireland called www.steekaz.ie You can hear more of Radion's story in the coming weeks On Air at Ireland's Classic Hits Radio and on this Podcast

Trina Mara chats to Sergiy Balan, Chairman of the Association of Ukrainians in Ireland,  ahead of Saturday's prayer vigil at Cavan Cathedral which will mark 2 years of the war in Ukraine.  There'll also be performances by Irish and Ukrainian artists, an art exhibition and cake sale. February 24th 2024 4.30pm At Cathedral of Saint Patrick and Saint Felim, 45 Farnham Street, Cavan

Andy Kenny set up www.misneachukraine.com with two friends from his football team - one of them Irish, the other one from Ukraine.  They've sent truckloads of adult incontinence wear, crutches, wheelchairs, hoists, first aid kids and walking frames to help those injured in the war with their rehabilitation. There is an ongoing need for these supplies and the Irish public have been donating items from their attics aswell as a number of large donations from nursing homes.  Opened packaging will be accepted and greatly appreciated.   Misneach Ukraine are also looking for volunteers, especially van drivers, who might be able to volunteer a couple of hours per month to help collect donated supplies from across the country.