People are invited to a celebration with the Thurles Ukrainian Community Centre.
It is being held tomorrow from 11.30am at the centre which is located between the Courthouse and Premier Hall in the town.
This the second such event that they have hosted since their arrival back in 2022, with the aim of meeting, thanking, and integrating with the local community.
John Gleeson of Sherry Fitzgerald Gleeson real estate in Thurles was involved in the setting up of the centre and told Tipp Today a bit about what happens there.
“The kids went over to a corner where there was a little sandpit and they started playing there the parents sat over on the other side, mixing among themselves, sharing ideas about what’s happened since they came, who they met, what job opportunities where to get to Intreo, how to get PPS numbers, a whole load of things.
“So between the Rotary Club and Thurles Social Services we made the space available to them. We covered the cost of the electricity and we oversee and manage it but other than that we let the Ukrainian community look after themselves.”
John says Ukrainian refugees living in Thurles are integrating well.
He says the centre has been a huge success and helped many of the Ukrainians settle into the area.
“I believe its very good. I suppose I’m biased in that I’m involved in this particular aspect of it and I’m meeting a lot of them on a regular basis and even through my own business I see that they’re entering into accommodation in apartments and houses throughout the town and throughout the area.
“They’re integrating well and they’re very keen to learn English but they’re pretty well educated. A good few of them would have reasonably good English so they are getting jobs. There’s very little unemployment as far as I can see in Thurles at the moment.”
