Schools around the country will be welcoming new arrivals from Ukraine in the days and weeks ahead, among them St Enda's National School in Lisdoonvarna in Co Clare.
Currently, there are around 10,000 Ukrainian refugees in Ireland and more than 40,000 expected to arrive here by the end of April.
It is estimated that around one-third of those fleeing to ireland from the war zone are children.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Saint Enda's principal Brian Carty said 14 children started there today.
He said: "We're delighted to have them. There's great excitement, a little bit of nerves around the place, and that. And that's just the staff. But no, we're delighted to have them.
"When we talk about 14, it's easy to get hung up on a random number, but that 14 is 14 children with 14 individual stories with 14 parents with 14 hardships behind them."
He said that the school is expecting to take 27 children from Ukraine ultimately.
The school is already multicultural with Russian speaking pupils attending and they are proud of the multicultural background, Mr Carty said.
The new children will receive a welcome pack when they arrive to help them settle in and the children in the school are looking forward to greeting the new pupils, he said.
The school can cope with the additional children, but may need another mainstream teacher once all 27 students are in place, the principal said.
