World of Politics with Harry McGee

The last meaningful trip Voldymry Zelenskyy took to Ireland was in 2017. Back then he was not a politician; he was a comedian and a TV performer, which at least gave him a comparison point to his US counterpart Donald Trump.

A TV comedy drama he made in 2015, Servant of the People, made him a huge star in Ukraine. It was about a history teacher who sounded off about the poor state of Ukraine to his class. Unbeknown to him, one of the pupils filmed him and the video went viral. On the back of it, the character played by Zelenskyy became president of Ukraine.

A longtime friend of his from Ukraine, who lives in Ireland, promoted concerts and events for Russian speakers, mostly Ukrainians.

He invited Zelenskyy and his troupe over to Ireland in 2017 and they played a sold-out concert in, of all places, Drogheda. Zelenskyy and his wife spent three further days in Ireland and visited the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin as well as the Cliffs of Moher.

And then Zelenskyy entered politics.

In a classic case of life imitating art, he was elected as Ukrainian president in 2019, on an anti-corruption and anti-establishment platform. It was a bit like Oliver Callan entering the fray over here.

The man who appeared before the Dáil this week cut a very different figure from the flamboyant and zany character who played in Drogheda eight years ago.

His small frame clad entirely in black, Zelensky looked drawn and tired. He spoke impressively for 13 minutes in a gravelly voice. No asides. Intense; serious; unwavering. What else would you expect from a wartime leader, for whom every single day means waking up to the reality that his State and its population of 44 million is teetering on the precipice?

The speech was impressive and powerful. He didn’t mince his words. “We need results. Every day our people are dying. We can simply talk – or we can work to bring an end to war,” he said.

The trip to Ireland had come at an important moment. He was in Paris the day before meeting French president Emmanuel Macron. And after his Irish visit, he travelled directly to the United States for talks with the Trump administration.

In the meantime, Trump’s emissary Steve Witkoff has been in Russia along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner negotiating with Vladimir Putin. It was Witkoff who drafted the 28-point peace plan with Russia a fortnight ago with no input or participation with Ukraine.

Pictured: Leader of the Seanad, Galway Senator Seán Kyne greeting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena on their visit to Leinster House this week, watched by Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, Seanator Mark Daly.