This weekend, a group of musicians gathered in O’Briens Irish pub in the Ukranian capital and belted out traditional Irish tunes as a distraction from the threat of war.

In this episode we uncover the surprisingly rich common history shared by Ireland and Ukraine, as told by a woman living through the dramatic recent events that have drawn the world’s attention to Kyiv as Russian troops advance.

Joining us is listener Nadia Dobrianska, who works in a human rights organisation in her native Kyiv and happens to be an afficionado in Irish culture and history. She unveils a hidden world of historical commonalities between the two countries, who both began asserting their nationhood in the same era, suffered domination from neighbouring power, and still bear the deep scars of famine from that experience.

Nadia also has a fascinating personal story to share. She experienced two revolutions in Kyiv before moving to Belfast in 2019 to pursue her love of Irish studies. There, she managed to pick up fluent Gaeilge through lessons on the Falls Road. Now back in Ukraine, those language skills have come in handy: with the world’s attention turned onto her country due to fears of a Russian invasion, Nadia has begun reporting on the situation in Irish for a range of Irish-language media outlets.

With her experience of living in Ireland, love for and deep knowledge of Irish culture and history, there’s hardly a better person to explain the Ukranian perspective on the current situation and the country’s unexpected but profound common heritage with Ireland.

Bonus episodes are published for our supporters over at www.patreon.com/theirishpassport

You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @PassportIrish and Nadia at @NadiaDobryanska

Huge thanks to our sponsors, Irish at Heart, for backing this episode. Sign up to receive surprise boxes of artisan Irish goods at irish-at-heart.com, and get a special 15% discount off your first box with the discount code IRISHPASSPORT. Here’s the link: https://irish-at-heart.com/

Music in this episode:

Maidan sings the anthem of Ukraine, 2013 https://youtu.be/lItPEbc6e-I

Nadia Dobrianska: https://twitter.com/NadiaDobryanska/status/1495383843666280453?s=20&t=_ZyNy3-uZBLyZKcEFeNm9A

Oy u Kyyevi and Ziydy ZIydy by Ukrainian Village Voices; Chief Boima, Cello Duet No 1 via the Free Music Archive

Choir sings hymn in Kyiv metro, captured by Jake Hanrahan https://twitter.com/Jake_Hanrahan/status/1495460993345933312?s=20&t=30yOxSEX42Pa3XrrftF2aw