Tipperary convent to provide safe harbour for refugees fleeing war in Ukraine
Aerial view of Fethard Presentation Convent, Co Tipperary.Â
Formerly the home of the Presentation Sisters for over 150 years, a convent in Co Tipperary will now provide safe harbour for 55 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
They will be housed in the newly modified Presentation Convent building in Fethard, near Clonmel.
It underwent refurbishment thanks to the work of tradesmen who "pulled all-nighters" to get the building fit for purpose, said Joe Kenny, chair of the local community group behind the measure. The project has received approval from the Irish Red Cross and the Department of Children and the rooms have been opened.
Nine-year-old Alina is among the first intake, having made it to Ireland with her four-year-old brother Damir, their mother Olena and their grandmother Liudmyla. They escaped central Ukraine after the first week of the war.
They saw "things fly in the sky", Olena said, terrifying them, and have now been reunited with their cousins, the Gavrylenkos. Parents Oleg and Maryna have spent much of the past two decades living in Tipperary.
Downstairs, there are tables laid out for eating along with a room for TV and lounging. Upstairs are bedrooms with their own sink. Outside a children's playroom are shelves and cupboards stocked with nappies, sanitary products and toothpaste. All were donated by locals in Fethard and the surrounding parishes.
Olena's children are "happy and playing and enjoying this new green country".
"They're full of fun," Maryna said. The family admitted that Damir, the youngest, "doesn't understand why he can't go back home", but they hold out hope they can return.
Some normality has returned to the children's lives, as Alina started school last week in the town. Despite the language barrier, she has been able to use Google Translate and loves being back in class.
There is giddiness among the children but news of horror from Bucha is not far away from their parents' minds.
Moscow faced accusations of war crimes after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some of whom had seemingly been killed at close range.
Maryna has not been able to watch the footage of bodies strewn around Ukrainian streets: "I can't see this video, I just can't. It's very painful. I'm still shocked, my sister is still shocked and we're trying to understand."
It made sense to use the over 40 rooms at the convent for people fleeing the war, Joe Kenny said. "The Presentation Sisters left in June 2020 and they kindly have been letting the convent be used as a community day centre," he said.
The refurbishment works were funded by the nearby Coolmore Stud, the thoroughbred operation owned by John Magnier, which has a number of Ukrainian staff at its yard.
One of them, Oleg Gavrylenko, did equestrian studies at the National Agrarian University in Kyiv before doing placement work in Ireland and staying to work at the Ballydoyle Racing yard.
Olena's husband has remained in Ukraine too but hopes to return to work soon, the family said. "Ukraine is an agrarian country," Oleg said. "The farmers there can't wait to go back in the fields and take the loose missiles out so they can start growing again."
The efforts in Fethard are an example of what the Government hopes is possible, according to Fine Gael senator Garret Ahearn.
"It's just not feasible to have people just moving to Dublin or Cork or Galway. We need all counties, if they have the facilities, to accommodate people."
He added that the "beauty" of the Presentation convent is that primary and secondary schools are just 100m away, along with a GP and a recently completed sports grounds funded by a rural regeneration programme.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
