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Over 50 locals celebrated Easter with Ukrainians

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By Natalya Krasnenkova

Ukrainian families living at the Innisfallen Hotel had invited their new friends, the local community of Killarney to visit, and together they celebrated Easter.

The crowd enjoying the concert at the Innisfallen Hotel over the weekend.

Nataliya Krasnenkova and Nikola Lynch pictured in the Innisfallen Hotel enjoying the Easter activities.

Young gymnasts Milana Byrdina and Yeva Pashchenko holding the flag for Ukraine at the Easter celebrations in the Innisfallen Hotel.

Tetiana Neliepova singing and Yevheniia Omelchenko playing guitar at the concert which was arranged to celebrate Easter and thank the people of Killarney for their support.

Milana Byrdina and Yeva Pashchenko and Yaromyr Zastup enjoying some treats.

St Brendan's College student Nikolay Kornienko pictured playing the flute at the concert in the Innisfallen Hotel.

More than 50 guests, including Consider it Cakes volunteers, teachers from schools in which Ukrainian children study and local friends came to the holiday concert and party.

“We wanted to spend Easter with our new friends from Killarney, introduce them to our Ukrainian traditions and get to know each other better. And most importantly, we wanted to thank the whole community for the help we receive. Every guest on our holiday was special for us,” Valerya Mashkovska from Odessa said.

Each guest left the holiday with a gift. After all, Ukrainian women and children had prepared many handmade souvenirs: traditional dolls, hearts, necklaces, brooches, and drawings. These yellow and blue souvenirs in the colours of the Ukrainian flag will remind our guests about Ukraine.

Thanks to volunteers and Mary O'Carroll of the Consider it Cakes charity, our children received more than 60 chocolate eggs and several hundred handmade cupcakes. Another 40 eggs went to the Ukrainian children in the Killarney Hotel.

Bonding experience

Consider it Cakes made up of a group of people living around Killarney prepared the charity pastries.

“We had a group of about 20 women from around Killarney and one 13-year-old girl named Kim O’Doherty from Kilcummin who baked for Innisfallen and Hotel Killarney,” Mary O’Carroll said.

“The group Consider it Cakes started at the beginning of COVID with an idea that nationwide every child deserves a birthday cake. It was a great bonding experience for the people of Killarney to the people of Ukraine. Our bakers are all moms and we wanted to show you moms and children some love. We think Ukrainian moms are incredible, strong, dealing with incredible hard times. For me personally my daughter Faye also helps with the baking. We made friends in the Innisfallen Hotel and promise to help our new friends."

The children were visited by an Easter bunny, who gave presents to everyone, hugged everyone and took a photo. The lady who was the Easter Bunny is an Irish language teacher Gaelscoil Faithleann in Killarney. She is very loved by all the kids she teaches and is known as 'Muinteoir Lisa'.

Emotional concert

The main highlight of the meeting was a concert to thank the local community for the support of Ukrainians. It was filled with Ukrainian classical and modern music, gymnastic performances, dances and poems. The organisers of the concert, Yevheniia Omelchenko and Alevtyna Rutto, have experience in organising events in Kyiv, so they willingly joined in the preparations. They devised a script for the event, selected suitable performances and prepared the entire audiovisual series.

Yevheniia Omelchenko, a graphic designer, has edited all the videos that were shown on the screen during a show. She says she wanted to introduce Irish guests to different parts of Ukraine, to show that we all have a place to return to and why to fight for our country.

"Yes, it is not appropriate to talk about the war on Easter. But we kept the balance between sad and funny topics,” Alevtyna Rutto explained.

All the guests were especially moved during the performance of the song 'I Have No Home'. The piano part was played by amateur musician Timur Al-Bayati, who spent two weeks in the basement of the occupied town of Irpin, near Kyiv. He miraculously escaped and is now in western Ukraine. Timur recorded the video of the piano part on his phone and sent it to Ireland. Yevheniia performed a live guitar part at the concert and Tetiana Neliepova sang. Yes, the song 'I Have No Home' turned into a real emotional culmination of the concert and brought together musicians from Ukraine and Ireland.

Mary O'Riordan was impressed by Timur's story. "The story of this guy from Irpin struck me to the core. There were tears in my eyes.”

The women's choir performed an ancient military march of Ukrainian insurgents 'Oh, Red Viburnum in the Meadow' (“Ой у лузі червона калина”). By the way, recently the legendary Pink Floyd played 'Oh in the Meadow Red Viburnum' together with the Ukrainian musician who is currently fighting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Khlyvnyuk. This song became famous all over the world.

“We have been preparing and rehearsing for a long time, because it is difficult for us to compete with Pink Floyd, but I think we managed to raise the fighting spirit in the hall. For greater understanding, we made subtitles for the lyrics in English,” added Victoria Volkova, a musician who played the tune on a synthesizer.

15-year-old Mykola Korniienko performed several parts on the flute. The world-famous 'Melody' by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk was first performed in Killarney.

The concert was closed with the Ukrainian folk dance 'Potato'. The Ukrainians quickly taught the Irish the movements of this dance - and the locals immediately picked it up and started dancing with us.

Making friends

Local guests talked to Ukrainians for a long time after the concert. Everyone has a lot of shared photos on the phone now, as well as many memories.

“We went to the concert to show support in any way we can to all Ukrainian people and to offer them a hug," Nicola Lynch said.

"The concert was very emotional and we cried a lot. I think it made us all closer to see how now the situation is in Ukraine. We need to open up our hearts more and offer more emotional support to people from Ukraine. It was clear to see how you miss your own home and your families that were left behind. The worry and anxiety attached to that is immense. It was so lovely to see how talented everyone was and how loving and close you all are. It was great for my kids to see the video and the devastation that war creates. They asked questions the whole way home in the car. Irish people are very similar to Ukrainian people. We all have big hearts and wear our hearts on our sleeves. Irish people have always been a kind and caring race. We always support and rally around someone who needs help. Ukrainian people are always so grateful for the smallest gestures. They always have a smile,” she added.

"After the success of our concert in Killarney, we are planning a tour around Ireland," joked the organisers!

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Rotary Club’s Wine & Art Night raises €25,000

The Killarney Rotary Club’s annual Wine & Art Night, held before Christmas, was another resounding success, raising a grand total of €25,000 for local community projects. President Ciara Irwin Foley […]

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The Killarney Rotary Club’s annual Wine & Art Night, held before Christmas, was another resounding success, raising a grand total of €25,000 for local community projects.

President Ciara Irwin Foley expressed the club’s delight with the amount raised, thanking club members and everyone who contributed to this impressive sum. She highlighted that this popular annual event directly supports vital local initiatives such as schools, clubs, and charities in the Killarney area.

Ms. Irwin Foley extended particular thanks to the event’s long-standing key sponsors: Daly’s SuperValu, Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co, and Killarney Credit Union, acknowledging their crucial and consistent support over the years. The team at The Great Southern Killarney was also thanked for ensuring the smooth running of the event. Appreciation was also given to the businesses that sponsored door prizes and competitions, including The Rose Hotel, M.D. O’Shea’s, CRL, and The Lake Hotel, as well as to Mike Neeson for providing entertainment.

The Wine & Art Night provides a valuable platform for local artists and craftspeople, with up to fifty showcasing their work. Some artists have been involved since the event’s inception, making it a wonderful networking opportunity. There is always significant interest from artists to participate in this worthwhile cause, with a percentage of their sales donated on the night. Many also generously donate their artwork for the auction, where 100% of the proceeds go directly to the beneficiary fund.

The beneficiaries themselves play an active role by selling tickets for the event in advance, using this as a key fundraising method for their own projects. The schools, clubs, organisations, and charities involved put in tremendous effort, and it is always inspiring to hear how the funds raised have positively impacted them. For example, the Hospice sells their Christmas cards at the event, and the Irish Pilgrimage Trust sells raffle tickets to help bring local people to Lourdes at Easter.

Organising the Wine & Art Night is a significant undertaking for the Killarney Rotary Club, with extensive preparations happening well in advance. Many individuals contribute their time and effort, with numerous volunteers ensuring everything runs smoothly on the night. It is this collective effort that makes the event such a success.

The €25,000 raised this year has been distributed to the following deserving beneficiaries: Faha N.S., Fossa N.S., Gaelscoil Faithleann, Knockanes N.S., Loreto N.S., Loughquittane N.S., St. Brendan’s (Sem), Hospice, Irish Pilgrimage Trust, Kerry Stars Club, Killarney Athletic, and Killarney Valley AC.
The Killarney Rotary Club is already looking forward to hosting their next Wine & Art Night at the end of November.

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Kerry Jobs Fair to connects job seekers and employers

Job seekers and employers in Kerry will have a chance to meet at the Kerry Jobs Fair 2025 on May 20, at the Rose Hotel in Tralee. Over 30 companies […]

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Job seekers and employers in Kerry will have a chance to meet at the Kerry Jobs Fair 2025 on May 20, at the Rose Hotel in Tralee.

Over 30 companies from the county will be there, offering hundreds of job openings across different sectors.
The free event is organised by NEWKD Local Development Company, in partnership with The Rose Hotel and Tralee Chamber Alliance. Anyone interested can attend by registering on the day.
People looking for work can explore opportunities in areas like office administration, IT, accounting, finance, hospitality, manufacturing, food production, and retail.
The event aims to link job seekers and employers with useful information and support related to employment.
Alongside employer stands, there will be a careers clinic offering help with CV writing, interview skills, and information on training and career development.
There will also be workshops for both employees and employers about employing people who are not Irish citizens.
Robert Carey, NEWKD SICAP Programme Manager, said that bringing together many employers, services, and speakers will give job seekers a great chance to talk directly to potential employers, join workshops on career progression, and learn about employment schemes like Tús, CE, and WPEP. He added that employers will get to meet job seekers face-to-face and get information on employing people from abroad, which is important for business growth.
Efforts are being made to help Ukrainian refugees and those seeking international protection attend the fair, with information provided beforehand and interpreters available on the day. NEWKD, as part of the Kerry Community Response Forum, highlights that employment is key for refugees integrating into the community.
During the event, employers can learn about the specifics of employing migrants, get answers to common questions, and raise any concerns. A workshop for employers will be led by Frank O`Boyle from the Irish Refugee Council.
In addition to the job fair, there will be information sessions for all visitors on topics such as CV preparation (led by Sean Connell, HR at NEWKD), interview skills (presented by Lydia Oboryna from the Open Door Initiative), employment law for migrants, accessing the labour market for those with temporary protection, and entrepreneurship workshops on starting a business and finding funding.
The Newkd Kerry Jobs Fair 2025 is supported by the Rose Hotel and the Tralee Chamber Alliance, with funding from the SICAP programme, which is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC).

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