“The Irish are insular Ukrainians”

Browsing through Facebook, I came across Irlandska Khata, an online magazine of the Ukrainian community in Ireland. The publication’s guiding slogan is: “We love Ukraine. We love Ireland. We adore humor.” Among the news are reports on helping the Ukrainian army, a video with a Ukrainian group’s concert in Dublin, and information about a Ukrainian school in Waterford. The Day spoke to Irlandska Khata editor Mykhailo BASKIN, a Ukrainian who lives in Dublin.

“THE IRISH KEEP STRANGERS AT BAY”

“As nobody had ever written news in Ukrainian and for Ukrainians, I decided to take it up,” Mykhailo Baskin says, telling the story of the online magazine Irlandska Khata. “I am in the project’s team. I’d like to be helped by a professional, but the project is noncommercial and, hence, of little interest.” Although the publication does not come out regularly, it in fact arouses more and more interest.

Baskin, who not only edits Irlandska Khata but is also director of the nongovernmental Association of Ukrainians in the Republic of Ireland (AURI), was born in Ternopil. “My wife and I have lived in Ireland since 2001. Before that, we stayed in Moscow and London, but Ireland suited our family the best,” Baskin says. “We have three children. The eldest, now 18, is a repeated taekwondo champion of Ireland, and a friend of his, also Ukrainian, is the world and Europe champion as part of the Irish national team. We also bring up two splendid girls.”

The Ukrainian has a small trucking business in Dublin, and his wife Liubov works as a tattoo master. “It is both difficult and easy to adapt in Ireland,” Mykhailo muses. “It becomes easier when the language barrier disappears. But, although the Irish are well-wishing people, they have an acute feeling of the family and tend to keep strangers at bay.” Mykhailo occasionally visits Ukraine in order to stay in touch with his homeland.

“UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEERS KNOW OUR COMMUNITY VERY WELL”

“The Ukrainian community in Ireland chiefly consists of the migrants who came here after 1995. Before that, there was in fact no diaspora,” Baskin says. Our embassy in Ireland says there are a little more than 3,500 Ukrainians in the country, but the real figure may be about 5,000 people. “The Ukrainians work in such traditional for migrants fields as taxi driving and construction as well as in the IT sphere because Ireland hosts the European offices of this industry’s giants,” Baskin adds.

The community’s activity varies. For example, about 600 people voted in the latest Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine elections. Certain groups of the Ukrainians coordinate their actions. In Baskin’s view, the most numerous and active part is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic congregation in Dublin.

Although the diaspora in Ireland is small, it helps the Ukrainian army very much. “Since the Euromaidan times, I’ve been collecting and handing over to the military money, blood-clotting drugs, clothes, and medicines, Baskin says. “And there are many others like me. For example, Mykola Krutsyk, also an AURI director, has delivered supplies to Ukraine’s eastern front several times, often personally driving jeeps. Serhii Romanenko [charge d’affaires of Ukraine in Ireland. – Author] has even received a letter of thanks from Zbruch Battalion. Ukrainian volunteers know our community very well.”

“WE ARE MAKING AN ALL-OUT EFFORT TO PROMOTE UKRAINE”

In early February, a Ukrainian school in Waterford, Ireland, announced the admission of pupils. Every Saturday, the over-6s and adults come together to learn Ukrainian traditions, language, and songs. Incidentally, Ireland’s Ukrainians love going to concerts of musicians from their native land. In the last days of February, the community heatedly debated the performance of the S.K.A.Y. rock band in Dublin.

According to Baskin, it is the Ukrainian Connection nonprofit association that often deals with cultural projects. In particular, its activists are going to stage an exhibit, “Ukraine: Inspiring Dignity,” in Dublin in March, which will display the Euromaidan news in pictures. As part of the event, donations will be collected to purchase medical equipment for a Vinnytsia hospital where the wounded servicemen are being treated. Incidentally, this exhibit was shown in Dublin in February this year at a less official level.

“The Irish do not know much about Ukraine, but they have begun to learn more in the past few years. There are close ties in agrarian business. We are making an all-out effort to promote Ukraine. The Ukrainian government seems to have at last found some minimal funds this year for this purpose,” Baskin says. “And what makes the Ukrainian and Irish people look alike? It may take hours to discuss this. We are strikingly similar to each other in terms of humor and mentality. There are also some historical parallels – both nations existed too long as part of an empire or in its shadow. As a lady I know once said, the Irish are nothing but insular Ukrainians.”