Alona is one of 4,921 Ukrainian refugees currently living in Co Clare. She lives in Kilkee, on the county's Atlantic coast with her daughter.
The number of Ukrainian’s living in the county has dipped below 5,000 for the first time since June 2023 when just over 4,600 Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection were living in the county, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released last month.
"We’re trying to live a normal life and give our kids the best we can," Alona told RTÉ Radio's News at One this week.
She was speaking at the Elliot Centre in Kilkee where English classes were in full swing while in a room next door, local musician Pat Murphy was teaching guitar and singing lessons to several Ukrainians.
"I was the first Ukrainian to come here to Kilkee in March of 2022. I continue to live here with my daughter and my mom.
"When we arrived, I thought that we would just stay here until summer. Then the war continued and we decided to stay until September because we had to start our school year," Alona said.
The year-round population of Kilkee is approximately 1,200, although that swells to well over 10,000 during the peak summer months when the resort town is packed with visitors.
"After almost four years we know everybody. Everybody knows everybody. I feel confident when my door is open," she said.
"I feel confident when my girl goes outside to play. Of course, I watch her but we feel very safe here," Alona added.
Ukrainians are aware that President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Ireland this week.
"We are very grateful that he has continued to visit different countries to remind the world about what is happening in Ukraine.
"For Ukrainians here, far away from home, it’s a more emotional aspect.
"If our President is coming here, we feel support and hope that everything is going to be ok," Alona said.
'Kilkee will always stay in my heart'
Hannah is a transition year student at St Joseph’s Community College in Kilkee.
"We had to move to Moldova for a couple of months when the war broke out," she said.
"Originally, we were trying to go to Canada or Great Britain. We never thought of Ireland, it wasn’t even on the list!" Hannah added.
"Then my mom was like, 'I think Ireland is an English-speaking country so we can go there.’
"Right now, I’m really enjoying it here. Just look at the landscape. Kilkee will always stay in my heart because it was the first city that accepted us.
"I cannot know what I will decide in the future but right now my plans are to finish college here and go to university here or maybe somewhere else in an English-speaking country.
"And if the war ends by that time, I will go to Ukraine and hopefully help the people there," Hannah said.
She has a very simple message for her visiting President.
"You’re doing great. Everybody thought that Ukraine wouldn’t hold on for that long but look at us now," Hannah, who is keen on a career in journalism, said.
Dina lives in Kilkee with her young son who attends Doonaha National School, which is located further west on the Loop Head peninsula.
Dina is generally upbeat about life, but she has not seen her husband or her eldest son for nearly four years.
They are living in Ukraine and their absence from her life is eating at her.
"That’s an issue that’s very difficult whether I like it or not. Against my will, against their will - sometimes it feels like we are drifting apart," she reflected softly.
'Impossible to understand'
However, when a friend in Ukraine asked Dina for an update on how her youngest son was getting on in west Clare, her spirits lifted.
"My friend asked me to send me a photo [of her young son] and a video which I did. Then she said, ‘oh what a boy Ireland has raised!"
Yana is 26 years old and lives in Ennis. She works at the Ennis Educate Together school in the town.
She is grateful for the opportunities that Ireland has offered her, but she misses her old life in Ukraine.
"You only find out what immigration is just after practice. It’s impossible to understand it in theory. I chat with my family in Ukraine, and they see that I’m trying to do my best here and also, I’m trying my best to help them there. Sometimes it’s not that easy."
However, Yana is unsure what the future holds.
"That’s a tough question. I’ve thought of it many times. I really admire Ireland, and I see a lot of possibilities here. Even in small villages, there are jobs. People are really nice to me," she said.
Yana added: "I could live here, although I still have my family and my life in Ukraine.
"I would love to live in a peaceful country and to have a chance to live with my friends that I have known since childhood."
Her admiration for President Zelensky is clear as is her message to him.
"I would definitely say that it was brave of him to stay with us when it all started. I would say thank you to him.
"I would ask him to do his best to get a proper communication with the US side in terms of territory."
'Ireland is our home'
Grisha and his wife Hannah have lived in Lahinch for three-and-a-half years.
Both are self-employed and their young children are settled.
Lahinch is in the Ennistymon Electoral Area which has the highest concentration of Ukrainian refugees in Ireland.
The latest CSO data indicates that there are 2,006 Ukrainian’s living in the electoral area which represents more than 11% of the local population.
"On the first day we arrived in Lahinch we were unloading our car when a lady asked to come, and she gave us €100 and she said, ‘you’re welcome in Ireland.’
"It was unbelievable," Grisha said, emotional at the memory.
"We want to stay here. I asked my eldest kid what she thinks if we can go back to Ukraine. She said ‘no, we have a lot of friends here and Ireland is our home," he added.
Hannah said that returning to Ukraine with their young family is not an option that she feels is safe.
"We are profoundly grateful to Ireland, and we are proud to establish two businesses.
"But for Ukrainian people there is simply no physical place to return now.
"There are no safety guarantees in Ukraine now. If the war is to stop now, we don’t have guarantees," she said.
