Tag Archives: ukraine

NEW figures from the Department of Education show that there are now 531 Ukrainian children in Clare primary schools and another 326 in the county’s second level schools. Cork, Donegal, Dublin and Kerry are the only counties with more Ukrainian pupils, however even Donegal and Kerry have significantly greater populations than Clare, as well as Cork and Dublin. Overall around 6.5% of the Ukrainian children attending Irish schools are doing so in County Clare. While the numbers are large, Clare TD Cathal Crowe said that the Department of Education have coped quite well with a very challenging situation. “Capacity is a problem, yet capacity can always be increased if decisions are taken quickly to do so. I would think that from the get-go Minister Norma Foley’s office have been one of the better departments to engage. “They set up a team of people in each regional area, so there’s a Mid-West team that have been dealing with school principals. “There …

SAINT Nicholas will pay a visit to Ennis this weekend as part of an interactive theatre production which aims to bring joy to Ukrainian children in Clare. On Sunday, December 18 the Feast of St Nicholas, the Civic Room of the Buttermarket Building in Drumbiggle will be transformed by Ennis drama club “Ptashka” and Clare Local Development Company for their ‘St Nicholas Workshop’ performance. The event will feature workshops, sweets, gifts and, of course, a meeting with your favourite saint Saint Nicholas. The first performance of the Ptashka drama group is the Saint Nicholas holiday. St Nicholas, Sviatyij Mykolai, comes to Ukraine on December 19 in the Orthodox Julian calendar. The night before, December 18 is often called “Magic Night”.  It is seen as a universal children’s festival, when the saint leaves sweets or games for children.  It is also a Ukrainian tradition for children to perform a play in honour of Saint Nicholas. “We believe that it will be a …

DRAMA is being used to promote integration between the communities of North Clare and those taking refuge from the war on Ukraine.  An innovative project called ‘New Hope’ has been spearheaded by Mariupol woman Nadia Shvachova, in partnership with Bellharbour native Maria Kerin Walsh. The programme has two stages, the first of which is to gather people to participate in the techniques of Playback Theatre to tell stories about their lives through improvisation. The second stage will see Irish and Ukrainian participants perform with a general audience and develop a “pop-up players”  theatre company Maria, an independent artist, curator and choreographer, has extensive experience of working overseas. She said the New Hope scheme is a way of keeping community bonds strong as the response to the war on Ukraine becomes a longer-term effort. “Originally, we were in crisis mode in North Clare and we’re now looking to move beyond that,” she said. Having lived for a time in Estonia, Maria …

HOMEWORK clubs started for Ukrainian children in West and North Clare in recent weeks are already proving themselves to be a success, with hopes of expanding the idea to other parts of the county and maybe further afield. The Homework Club Project, established by Clare Local Development company started for Ukrainian children on October 10 in Kilkee, and on October 17 in Ballyvaughan. Lisdoonvarna’s Homework Club is now up and running successfully for the last three weeks and that one is also open to local children in Direct Provision. Project Leader for the three clubs, Ailbhe Crowley of Clare Local Development Company Ailbhe explains how they work. “These are Ukrainian afterschool homework clubs. We already have homework clubs running around Clare in the Deis schools and these were hugely successful, so after the Ukrainian new arrivals had got involved in the summer camps we decided to expand the homework club system.” “The idea has been a great success so far, we began to …

A NEW appeal has been launched seeking Clare properties to house people who have fled the war in Ukraine. Clare County Council is urging those who have unoccupied properties to offer them as temporary homes. The call is part of a new government initiative, led by local authorities, to make use of unoccupied houses, apartments or holiday homes to house Ukrainian people and families. A tax-free recognition payment of €800 per month is available for properties used to house those arriving from Ukraine. This payment rate applies from December 1, 2022. More than 60,000 people have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine seeking safety and the vast majority need accommodation. Under a new programme, Clare County Council will take offers of houses, apartments, or holiday homes for temporary accommodation, liaise with owners to assess suitability, and arrange for their use by Ukrainian people and families. Property owners can offer homes at offerahome.ie or by contacting Clare County Council via email at: offerahome@clarecoco.ie. …

NORTH Clare’s response to those fleeing the war on Ukraine has been described as “a long haul exercise”, that now needs a clear plan as well as ring-fenced funding support. Figures released this week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the Ennistymon Local Electoral Area (LEA) continues to be the area hosting the largest number of Ukrainian arrivals in the country, per capita. While the reception provided in the area since February was commended by the West Clare Cathaoirleach, Shane Talty, he said the ongoing challenges need to be properly and urgently addressed. Up to November 6, there were 3,567 arrivals from Ukraine in Clare with 45% or 1,592 living in the Ennistymon LEA. Arrivals from Ukraine now account for 8.8% of the population in the area. The figure, according to CSO data, shows that North Clare is supporting far more newcomers than areas of a similar size around the country. CSO analyst Karola Graupner said: “Our analysis …

RUSSIA has banned three of Clare’s Oireachtas members from entering the country. The names of Senator Timmy Dooley, Deputy Cathal Crowe are Deputy Joe Carey are on a list of 52 Irish citizens who have been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin’s regime. Since last Wednesday’s (November 16) announcement by the Russian Embassy, those who face sanctions have now been informed. Responding to his ban, Senator Dooley said he refuses to be intimidated or threatened. “Putin is a brutal dictator and his black list is clearly meant to frighten and intimidate those identified on it – a dog whistle to his supporters to visit harm on those of us who have been named – I have never given way to bullies and that won’t change,” he said. This evening I was informed I was part of Putin's blacklist. A digraceful action of intimidation by a desperate dictator This is nothing but a dog whistle to his supporters to visit harm on those of …

AT the moment there are just over 3,000 refugees from Ukraine living in Clare, having fled their homes following the brutal Russian invasion of their country. Providing care and support for so many means numerous challenges, and Jason Murphy is in charge of Clare County Council’s response, having been appointed Director of Services for Ukrainian Services Development. It’s a position no one could have envisaged would be needed this time last year, but while putting support structures in place was required quite suddenly, Jason says some of the structures Clare had in place from the Covid-19 response were a help. “None of the Covid response was from one agency, it wasn’t from one agency, one community group, it was everyone in County Clare responding and the Ukrainian piece, it’s an all-of-Co. Clare response as well. “While Clare County Council has a co-ordinating role, various agencies have their own responsibilities and actions, NGOs are out there leading as they have always …