An Irishman and his family who fled Ukraine have said they are lucky to be safe and out of the war-torn country.
The journey involved a dash from Kyiv to the Polish border where they queued for 53 hours and saw a woman die on the side of the road.
Tom O'Callaghan, from Moyvane in Co Kerry, escorted his wife and children to safety from Kyiv and arrived to Poland on Monday.
"We are lucky to get out. We are grateful we got out," said Tom.
His wife Anna said it was her mission to get her children to safety.
"We were all praying. We are lucky to cross the border and we are lucky to be safe now," said Anna.
The O’Callaghan family are currently travelling to Germany to meet his wife Anna’s sister, and her mother and father.
The journey from Ukraine began when Russian forces started to attack Kyiv.
Tom, his wife Anna and her two young children, Anna’s aunt and their jack russell terrier travelled together.
"Bombing started Thursday morning in Kyiv at 5am. We could hear thuds in the distance," said Tom.
"We waited for Anna's aunt to join us and departed Kyiv at 1pm on Thursday and arrived in Lviv, 530km away, 20 or so hours later at 10 or 11am on Friday.
"We stayed with Anna's aunt's friend on Friday. She decided to stay in Lviv, and we departed the city at 8am on Saturday.
"We got to the queue for the border crossing at 10am on Saturday. We were 12km from the crossing at Budomezh.
"There was a great camaraderie and community spirit along that road.
"In that part of Ukraine it is mainly a Greek Catholic Community and the priests in all the villages along the day were helping organise food for people.
"Then on the other side you had people who felt that they did not have to queue and were jumping the line.
"Women with young kids started blocking queue jumpers and not letting people pass. Everybody had to wait their turn.
"The mood darkened on day two. A woman had a heart attack. She passed away on the side of the road.
"We crossed the border at Budomezh about 53 hours after we started in this queue on Monday afternoon.
"When we crossed the border there was a feed station. There wasn't a whole lot of people loitering around.
"It was surreally calm and quiet once we crossed the border.
"I felt relieved. My wife had kept it together for the full 52 hours but as soon as the barrier went up she broke down."
Tom told RTÉ's Morning Ireland he is happy he left Ukraine but feels "pretty helpless at the moment that he is not doing more".
"Over the next 24 hours I will figure out what I need to do. We are lucky to get out. We are grateful we got out. We are determined to see what we can do from where we are, to help those who are behind and help the country.
"My journey was nothing. There are people hunkering down in basements in Kyiv and the East of Ukraine today and tonight. My tale is nothing compared to what is happening on the ground out there.
"The consular support from the Irish Embassy in Poland was fantastic. The help that my colleagues in EI, Ladislav Muller in Prague and Tonia Spollen in Poland provided was truly amazing.
"My wife was deeply deeply touched with how the Embassy and EI searched for and organised a hotel room for us in Rzeszów last night. They were also in constant touch throughout the journey.
"We are now on the way to Anna's sister near Hanover. We will then decide what to do next."
"The reception here by the Poles has been amazing. They are also refusing to charge any Ukrainian cars on the toll roads.
"We crossed the border without any European car insurance and went to the office of the PZU insurance company in the first town in Poland.
"For all Ukrainians crossing this company is giving 30 days coverage at no charge. As trivial as these things sound they all make a difference."
Anna said the journey to the border was "horrible" but it was her "mission" to save her children.
"You do not know if you would stay alive," she said.
"I am crying all the time because my close people are left there. My home is there. I am from Kyiv."
She said her friends who remain in Kyiv are "really scared" and "do not know what to expect next".
"We were all praying. We are lucky to cross the border and we are lucky to be safe now," said Anna.
