The war rages on in their native land, but one small group of Ukrainians have found a welcome safe haven for themselves – in the heart of rural Galway.

And last weekend, the Kiltullagh-Killimordaly/Attymon Supporting Newcomers Group celebrated the six-month anniversary of those Ukrainians’ arrival with up to fifty people gathering for a coffee morning at the Galway Plaza.

“It’s a great turnout,” says the group’s chairperson Mairead Seery, looking around the busy room. “Today is just a little ‘Thank You’. It’s not even the numbers; it’s the quality of the people here – it’s fantastic. We have around forty volunteers in all, in small and big ways. Our volunteers give lifts for school or shopping or football practice.”

The area currently supports four families of 13 Ukrainian refugees, living in two local houses – and a network of locals only too happy to make sure they are safe and happy there.

And, at the age of 80, Nora Hurley, one of the local volunteer drivers, says this volunteer effort is nothing new.

“This happened before in the fifties when Hungarian refugees came to Ireland and to Attymon too, to the Bord na Mona billets”, she remembers.

“I welcome change and new people, I love the work, it’s a great outlet. They can teach us about ourselves, and they absolutely add to the local community as well as being the right thing to do.

“The new Ukrainian children have also boosted the numbers in the local school,” she adds.

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