Ukrainian children thank Killarney community with handmade Christmas cards

“They wanted to thank the local community for all the support and kindness shown to the Ukrainian people," said Ukrainian community worker Natalya Krasnenkova.

Tue, 20 Dec, 2022 - 19:30

Mairead Sheehy

Ukrainian children living in hotels in Killarney have handcrafted Christmas cards and sent them to members of the local community, thanking them for their warm welcome in the Kingdom.

Over a hundred Christmas cards have been made by a group of 15 children, with help from their mothers.

All of the children are currently living in the Inisfallen and Eviston House hotels in Killarney.

The surprise Christmas cards were sent last week to people in the Killarney community.

The thoughtful Christmas tokens were posted in recent days to a variety of people within the Killarney community, ranging from teachers and principals, to scout leaders and the town's mayor.

Natalya Krasnenkova, a Ukrainian community leader in the Kerry town, said she is grateful for the immense support she has received since arriving in this country in March.

We’re spending our first Christmas in Ireland, and so we wanted to give thanks to every person who has helped us during the past eight months,” she said.

She explained that the group came up with the idea of creating the handmade Christmas cards as a way of showing their gratitude to all those who have impacted their lives since they arrived here after fleeing the war in their homeland.

They created a list of organisations and people who had helped them to settle and live in the town. From that list, they identified more than 100 recipients to receive a personal thank-you.

Christmas cards were given out during the carol service in St Marys Church.

Among them was senator Mark Daly for his vocal support and for making a special appearance at their K-Fest, held in Killorglin recently.

“They wanted to thank the local community for all the support and kindness shown to the Ukrainian people temporarily living here over the last eight months,” said Ms Krasnenkova.

She said that responses from the recipients themselves have been great, with many feeling ‘surprised’ at the sheer effort that went into the crafting of the cards.

“It was a very touching moment giving out these cards," she said.

We were happy we could give our thanks and Christmas wishes to the people in Ireland.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Niall Kelleher, the mayor of Killarney, said he was “delighted” to receive a personal card from the group of children.

“We had some of the Ukrainian women and children involved in our Christmas parade at the weekend," he said.

"While they’d love to be at home in their own country, I think it’s great to see them fitting in and getting involved here in the local community.”