It is a long-standing Ukrainian tradition to tidy up our homes, plant flowers, saw dry tree branches and sweep leaves on the eve of Easter.

Sunday morning, Ukrainians from the Innisfallen Hotel were very active as we decided to clean up the area around the hotel and the path in the park that leads from Fossa to Killarney.

In the old days, women used to paint the house white with white lime to prepare for the holidays.
Therefore, Ukrainians who have private homes or relatives in the villages always gather a week before Easter to work together.

11-year-old Volodymyr Kravchenko from Kharkiv is carefully clearing last year's leaves near the hotel.

"At home we clean every spring at our summer cottage and I really like this kind of work."

Lilia Paseka, who sweeps the rubbish, says she wants to thank both the hotel staff and the local community for the warm welcome in Killarney.

"Now this is our home, and it should be cozy and comfortable," she said.

Neither the wind nor the rain prevented us from working well and happily in the yard. There were so many people willing to help that there were not enough shovels and brooms for everyone.

Olga Tkachenko and her 13-year-old son Ivan actively worked together with all the people. Due to the war in 2014, Olga was forced to leave her home in Donbass and move to Kyiv. Now she is again forced to save her family from the Russian army by coming to Ireland. Olga almost cries, and says she is very grateful to the Irish who warmly sheltered her family. "I want to thank everyone for their work," she added.

Svitlana Malysheva and Olena Okhrimchuk jog in the park every day. They took rubber gloves and large bags with them and removed all the rubbish on the picturesque path leading from Fossa to Killarney.

But a real surprise was prepared by Svetlana. She brought with her from Ukraine the seeds of marigold flowers which are very popular. They have been growing in every Ukrainian yard for centuries and we compose songs about these flowers.

Marigold - plant of the daisy family, typically with yellow, orange, or copper-brown flowers, that is widely cultivated as an ornamental. Imagine, marigolds for Ukrainians are as important a symbol as the Rose of Tralee is to the Irish. Svetlana planted the seeds in a flowerbed near the hotel. In June, everyone will be able to admire the bright yellow and orange flowers near our new home.