Foghlaimeóir ón Úcráin: how one Ukrainian woman fell in love with the Irish language

“I think the Irish-language community in Ireland really made me feel welcome - really like a safety net, I would say, for me.” 

Irish speaker and traditional Irish flute player Nadia Dobrianska, from Ukraine, now living in Cork. She is holding a book she was involved in writing to assist people from Ukraine to learn to speak the Irish language. Pic: Larry Cummins

Nadia Dobrianska can still vividly remember hearing her first traditional song, an experience which sparked a deep love of Irish language and culture.

That song was ‘Gile Mear’, a traditional ballad performed by many acclaimed artists including Mary Black, James Last, and Celtic Woman.