Photos: Happy faces all round as Chernobyl children arrive in Ireland for holiday

Around 120 children from Chernobyl have arrived in Ireland for a month-long rest.

Their plane landed in Shannon Airport this afternoon and the third-generation victims of Chernobyl will be staying with Irish families across nine counties.

During the month-long stay, radiation levels in the children drop by nearly 50% and up to two years is added to their life expectancy.

Up to 25,500 children have come to Ireland since the nuclear disaster happened in 1986.

All photos Eamon Ward.

[gallery]89[/gallery]