'If the visa issue had been resolved earlier, we could have been having a cup of tea in Ireland now'

Brendan Murphy's stepdaughter Olivia.

Irish man Brendan Murphy this morning fled the Ukrainian capital with his family as Russian forces moved into Kyiv. 

There are 70 Irish citizens currently in Ukraine who have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs, according to a Government update this lunchtime.

Mr Murphy has reacted critically to the Irish Government announcement of a visa waiver scheme, which he says has come too late given the security situation. 

“It's not safe to go anywhere, people may be going to the countryside just to be out of the cities, but nobody really knows a safe place. And if you look at the map of bombing currently, it's every single city in the country. 

"Wherever you go, every road that you may consider would be a bombing route. So you need to settle down and not go crazy. And then when things become clearer, see what corridors may or may not exist, if any exist at all,” he said.

Mr Murphy said he was quite upset earlier this morning, thinking about how if the visa issue had been resolved earlier, they could have taken a flight home and been having a cup of tea in Ireland, at home with the heating on, in five hours.

Although he feels the visa waiver could have come earlier, Mr Murphy said  it’s only really too late “when people are dead”. He said for his family, and for others in similar situations trying to flee Ukraine, there are only three things they can do:

“First of all, calm ourselves. I'm not calm at the minute, but I will be. The second thing is to be disciplined and follow what people are asking us to do. And then the third thing is to live long enough to come home.”

The family are currently on the outskirts of Kyiv, having fled the city centre this morning when they woke up to the sounds of bombing, missiles and war planes flying overhead.

Mr Murphy has spent the last 20 years travelling between Ireland and Ukraine for business. His wife Marina is Ukrainian, and although they have a home in Ireland, they had settled in Ukraine for the last two years over the pandemic, to be near Marina’s 80-year-old mother, her daughter, and her three-year-old granddaughter.

Mr Murphy has been critical of the Irish Government for failing to make travel from Ukraine to Ireland visa-free, and was part of a group who wrote to Justice Minister Helen McEntee to tackle the issue over a week ago.

Until Thursday, Ireland was the only EU state which applied visa restrictions on Ukrainians. Because of this, Mr Murphy was not able to bring his family to Ireland, and away from tensions which have been building in Ukraine for some time.

Brendan Murphy and his family in Ukraine.

As Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced that all visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens would be waived.

“Every city in is being attacked by missiles, rockets and fighter planes, bombers and everything else that Putin has at his disposal,” said Mr Murphy.

“It was a bit like going to the Ploughing Championship, you know, I packed everybody in the car, the dog and everything, you name it,” he said.

“It took me four hours to get 40km to the edge of Ukraine. It was difficult because you saw people with their possessions in bin bags, people sombre and sad, some people determined, some people with children looking scared and some people crying. And you're thinking, okay, we'll be okay. But when you hear the news that today they ordered the visa waiver, you would feel sick,” he added.

'Closely monitoring' situation 

Officials from the Department of Affairs remain in direct and ongoing contact with Irish citizens in Ukraine who have registered online.

"The safety and security of Irish citizens and their dependents in Ukraine is our priority," a statement said.

Officials said they are "closely monitoring" the situation in Ukraine and are advising all Irish citizens currently in Ukraine to shelter in a secure place, given the security situation there. 

However, citizens should consider leaving Ukraine if they judge it safe to do so, depending on their location and prevailing circumstances, the Department stressed.

It confirmed that as a result of the invasion, Ukrainian airspace has been closed. It is likely that overland routes out of Ukraine will be severely disrupted and the road network and border crossings may face backlogs or closures at short notice, it said.

The Department’s travel advice has information for neighbouring countries that people may be planning to travel to, or through.