News
Victoria Volkova: I want to teach children English

By Natalia Krashanova
Viktoria Volkova is a Ukrainian who arrived in Killarney three months ago.
She is a beautiful, nice and intelligent woman. At the time she reached Ireland with her teenage daughter and her mother, she had had covered a journey of 3,300 km from Kherson, occupied by the Russian military, to Killarney.
She drove her car with her elderly mother, her daughter and a dog. The traveling trio finally made it to their destination and boarded the plane to Ireland.
From the very beginning of the war the outskirts of the city of Kherson, in the south of Ukraine, was under constant shelling.
Victoria, her daughter and her elderly mother had to move to her friends’ house because they had a basement. It served as a shelter from Russian missiles.
“It was the beginning of March. There was no heating in the basement, so it was very cold.
We brought blankets and warm things, a minimum supply of food, water and TV. We got to know last news from it. There were 13 of us in the basement. When the shooting stopped, we went out to get food, but the shops were mostly closed. We bought everything we could find, even chicken feet, which we could also cook in soup,” recalls Victoria.
“All the time, while we were living in the basement, we hoped that the Ukrainian army would be able to recapture our city. However, the Russian army firmly occupied Kherson, having established checkpoints and brought in bunch of military equipment, tried to set its administration (to this day, the city of Kherson is under the occupation of Russia).
After a month spent in the basement, she realised that it was time to leave the city before it was too late.
But the Russian army did not give civilians a ‘green corridor’.
They decided to evacuate on their own.
They left Kherson at the end of March in their car, joining a line with other cars through mined fields. Every minute there was a risk of blowing up a mine or being attacked from the air.
Fortunately, the women reached a Ukrainian checkpoint. When Victoria saw the soldiers in Ukrainian uniforms, she understood that they had managed to escape from the encirclement. Then she cried for the first time.
Victoria Volkova is a teacher of English and piano. The first thing she did in Killarney was to obtain registration and confirmation of her teacher’s diploma.
She is one of the first Ukrainians who was able to confirm her diploma and registrated with the Teaching Council of Ireland.
Now Victoria is waiting for an opportunity to continue working as an English teacher in one of the schools in Killarney.
“I see that not all Ukrainian children speak English well. Therefore, I will be glad to help them. Because only knowing the language can help Ukrainians fully integrate into Irish society,” says Victoria.
Victoria currently works at Kerry ETB where she helps to organise English language courses
for Ukrainians. Knowledge of Ukrainian, Russian and English enables to Victoria effectively
organise the work at the language centre.
One in five Ukrainian refugees, who have arrived in Ireland since the war broke out, have already found employment, while almost two thirds of the remainder are actively looking for work. This is one of the principal findings of the inaugural survey of Ukrainian refugees carried out by Ukrainian Action In Ireland (UACT), a registered non-profit committed to supporting Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.
One of the biggest issues facing Ukrainian refugees in accessing language courses, with almost half of all respondents speaking little or no English and 63% experiencing a language barrier in their search for a job. More than half of Ukrainians are studying English by themselves using online resources. 40% of them are attending English classes in person.
News
Final delivery as DJ retires
By Michelle Crean There’s hardly a Killarney home he hasn’t been to – but now DJ O’Driscoll has stood down from his duties. Friday night marked delivery driver DJ’s retirement […]

By Michelle Crean
There’s hardly a Killarney home he hasn’t been to – but now DJ O’Driscoll has stood down from his duties.
Friday night marked delivery driver DJ’s retirement from the Killarney branch of Corcoran’s Furniture & Carpets, a position he has held for the last 15 years.
On Friday night, colleagues from all three Corcoran’s Furniture & Carpets stores gathered in the Killarney Height’s Hotel. DJ was also joined by his daughter and her partner for the special night.
“After almost 15 years of steadfast work with Corcoran’s, DJ has been a constant pillar of support for his colleagues and has helped the company go from strength to strength,” owner Kieran Corcoran said.
“Corcoran’s would like to wish DJ the very best of luck for the future and hoping that he enjoys his retirement. Many thanks to Killarney Height’s Hotel for hosting the staff night on Friday. A great night was had by all!”
News
Rowers pull together for Order of Malta
Members of Flesk Valley Rowing Club had a strenuous but successful morning on Sunday when they collectively rowed the distance from Malin Head to Mizen Head. And it was all […]

Members of Flesk Valley Rowing Club had a strenuous but successful morning on Sunday when they collectively rowed the distance from Malin Head to Mizen Head.
And it was all done indoors on rowing machines in support of the Killarney Order of Malta.
Just before 11am the Valley armada ‘left shore’, and approximately 40 members aged from 12 to 50ish set to their task with enthusiasm. By midday someone reckoned that Barack Obama’s Plaza had been reached but unfortunately there was no stop for tea, just a splash of holy water, a mouthful of Lucozade and a few jelly babies for the lucky ones!
As the kilometres clicked slowly by the temperature started to rise and the cry went up from the gasping veterans to open all the doors!
No such problems for the junior relay crews who had a fantastic morning rowing, laughing, and racing each other all the way to the finish.
The junior members who took on the half-marathon distance individually were amazing throughout and got stronger as the finish line came into view.
“We’re delighted with how the morning went,” Tadhg Kelly from Flesk Valley said.
“There was a great atmosphere in the venue, and we are grateful to all the parents and Flesk Valley supporters who came along to encourage our young and not-so-young rowers. It was great too to see the members of the Order of Malta in attendance to offer their support, and the club would like to thank everyone who donated on the day.”
Tadhg also expressed his thanks to the underage coaches and committee members for looking after everyone during the event. He especially wanted to mention everyone at Celtic Steps and the Killarney Racecourse for facilitating the club and Workmens Rowing Club and Glenflesk GAA for the use of their equipment.
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