From living in Cork City to a sports hall in Clonmel: Ukrainian refugees ask where next?
Some of the Ukrainian refugees who were moved from Cork student accommodation to Clonmel. Picture: Denis Minihane
At a sports club in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, rows and rows of beds are lined up around a vast, windowless hall. About 50 Ukrainians who fled the war in their home country have been temporarily housed here until more permanent accommodation can be sourced. They have no idea when that will be.
The group had been living at a student village in Cork City for the summer months, but the Government contract with that facility came to an end at the weekend.
Hundreds of Ukrainians were forced to leave the complex on Saturday and Sunday to make way for the return of students for the coming year.
Among them were the 50 Ukrainians bussed to the sports hall in Clonmel. They say they have received no information on how long they will remain there.
The families, who have been moved around Ireland since their arrival after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have stayed in temporary accommodation in Cork City, Mallow, Banteer, Kilshannig, Kilkenny and Dublin — the list goes on.
Although many want to work, they say it is “impossible” to get employment with such uncertainty about where they will live.
Karina, who was moved to Clonmel and translated for others in the group, was offered a six-month contract as an accommodation manager in a Cork City hotel but had to refuse it ahead of her move from the city. She is looking for work again, but like many she cannot commit without certainty about her living situation.
"Depressed," is how Artiom, Karina’s 13-year-old son, summed up how he feels. “I can’t study. I can’t exercise. I can’t talk with my friends. I am feeling depressed. We have something to eat, we have a place to sleep, and this is good, but unfortunately there is no personal space.”
Like most Ukrainian children, Artiom had his education disrupted by the pandemic while he was living in his native country. When they were forced to flee, and he arrived in Ireland, his mother managed to enrol him at a school in Bishopstown.
His first in-person schooling in more than two years, however, lasted less than two weeks as Artiom was then sent to Clonmel. Once again, he is left without an education, friends and a clear future. He has not been told when he can return to school.
“Especially I am feeling sad that I lost my place in Bishopstown where I like the teachers and other schoolmates,” he said.
Karina says of Clonmel: "All the staff are very hospitable and pleasant. We are very grateful to the Irish people.” But she points out how inadequate the facilities are.
“We can’t imagine how kids can go to school and come back here and do homework,” Karina said. “It’s just impossible.”
More than 2,500 Ukrainian refugees who have been housed in student accommodation around the country since the start of the summer will be relocated by the end of this month. Up to 2,000 more are likely to be moved by mid-September.
Six months on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many cling to hope of returning home soon — if they’re lucky enough to have somewhere to return to.
On Ukrainian Independence Day, which celebrates independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, many Ukrainians are worried about renewed attacks on their country, and friends and family who stayed to fight.
Every person in the group in Clonmel nods when asked if they know people who have died back home.
The families have mixed feelings about returning to their homeland. Some want to stay. Some want to go home. Others want to return home but have nowhere left to go.
Figures released last week by the Central Statistics Office show a total of 47,962 people from Ukraine have sought refuge in Ireland since the outbreak of the war.
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