Adi Roche has been recognised by University College Cork (UCC) with an honorary Doctorate of Arts.
She told RTÉ's Drivetime that receiving the accolade from UCC had a special significance for her, telling the story of how she first heard about the Chernobyl disaster.
Speaking about getting involved in Chernobyl, she said that she remembered being in a classroom with a group of students doing a peace education course after the news broke of the disaster and thinking "we’ve got to do something, what can we do?"
She said that at the time people were terrified, as they all knew radiation was invisible and can do such incredible damage and is so dangerous as it can go beyond any border.
She said that in Cork in 1986, a group of doctors set up a 24-hour phone hotline to give people basic information about the dos and don’ts in the event that the nuclear fallout came to Ireland. She said that they gave out very valid and important information, which was instrumental for a lot of people.
"That really was the start," she said, but afterwards they hit radio silence, as the whole disaster became a secret because of the Soviet Union punishing those who spoke about it, when it came to the reality of the negative health implications, deaths, and deformed babies being born.
She said it was early 1991 when an SOS message came about getting children out - so the team here mobilised and started to bring tens of thousands of children to Ireland as refugees of Chernobyl for recuperative holidays.
She thanked the people of Ireland for their kindness and generosity, who opened their homes and their hearts to the children of Chernobyl.
Ms Roche said that at present she is deeply concerned about Ukraine and Belarus and noted that Chernobyl has been kind of put on the backburner due to other geo-political events.
She said that ignoring Chernobyl in the context of the war between Ukraine and Russia: "We do so at our peril."
She said it was important to keep an eye and try resolve the war there, and bring about a ceasefire. She added that the war was ongoing both in and around the nuclear facility at Zaporizhzhia, and that this issue is 'on edge'.
She said that it is key to make sure that the world does not have a second Chernobyl in Zaporizhzhia and that there should be 'no fly zones' over any nuclear facilities, as the dangers are "too significant".
She said that in 2024, now the third generation of Chernobyl victims or survivors are being born. The impact sees children being born with a specific heart condition that needs surgical intervention in order to survive.
