🎙Hello Irlandia☘️

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• the Polish Embassy in Dublin firmly rejects claims about the freedom of expression in Poland and the country’s role during the Second World War published in The Irish Times

• Ambassador Sochańska asserts that ‘Poland has fought a long and hard struggle to become a fully democratic state, and one that also supports other states and people fighting for their freedom’

• Poland marks the 78th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1944 Powstanie Warszawskie or Warsaw Uprising, and

• good news for film buffs - nearly 4,000 classic Polish films are now available for free online.

A fascinating interview with Imogene Salva, a Polish-American, who's the author of "One Star Away", a historical novel which casts a light on one of the darkest periods in Polish history, and a time with lessons for us today.

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• Poland moves to speedily ratify the NATO accession protocols for Finland and Sweden

• Zelensky warns that Russia could use his country as a base to attack more countries

• Iga Świątek’s 37 match unbeaten run comes to an end with a third-round Wimbledon defeat, and

• Polish golfer Adrian Meronk wins the Horizon Irish Open.

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• the Polish government hails major gains for the country’s security arising from the NATO summit meeting in Madrid with Finland and Sweden to join NATO and a permanent U.S. ‘command and control’ military presence to be established in Poland

• there’s widespread condemnation of new Russian strikes against targets in Ukrainian cities

• Jarosław Kaczyński repeats that he plans to also leave the leadership of Prawo i Sprawiedliwość in 2025 following his departure from the government, and

• 4.7m students commence their summer vacation.

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• as fighting rages in Donbas, Poland announces plans for further large-scale military purchases

• Prime Minister Morawiecki once again pleads for additional international military assistance for Ukraine

• a new government coal price subsidiary is announced to help with fuel costs, and

• the Polish soccer team goes down to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Belgium.

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• the benchmark interest rate in Poland hits 6% after the ninth consecutive increase by the Narodowy Bank Polski

• there’s at least conditional agreement on the release of over €35 billion in EU economic recovery funding to Poland

• Prime Minister Morawiecki announces the provision of more heavy weaponry to Ukraine, and

• Iga Świątek triumphs in the French Open women’s singles.

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• Prime Minister Morawiecki warns that if the battle in Ukraine is lost the free world will not be safe from threats and blackmail by Vladimir Putin

• Poland welcomes the EU’s sixth sanctions package against Russia including a partial oil embargo

• the latest flash inflation rate for May hits 13.9%, and

• a wide range of Polish cultural activities are taking place in Ireland over the coming weeks including the Polska Éire Friendship Run, the Polska Éire festival events organised by Gorey.PL, and a literary festival at the Biblary Polish Community Centre & Library in Inchicore.

W tym tygodniu, porozmawialiśmy z Karolem Dettlaffem, prezesem Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Kulturalnego Gorey.pl o wydarzeniach odbywających się w Gorey w hrabstwie Wexford w ramach tegorocznego festiwalu PolskaÉire.

Poland’s main news stories over the past week have included:

• President Duda tells the parliament in Kiev that ‘Only Ukraine has the right to decide its future’

• number of people who’ve crossed from Ukraine into Poland since February 24th surpasses the 3.6m mark

• Poland officially ends its natural gas supply contract with Russia, and

• Prime Minister Morawiecki calls for compromise over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Interview with Dr. Bozena Cierlik from the Department of History at University College, Cork about the historical background to the Ukraine conflict. Dr. Cierlik, is an expert on Polish and East European History after the First World War and is a recipient of Bene Merito honorary distinction awarded to citizens of Poland and foreign nationals in recognition of their merits in promoting Poland abroad.