Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers share lessons with Irish counterparts on Cork visit

Volunteers from the Ukrainian Red Cross visited Mallow as part of a four-day trip to Ireland to share frontline lessons in crisis response and community support. The volunteers also visited Limerick, Galway, and Dublin.

Since 2022, the Ukrainian Red Cross has scaled up to meet the needs of millions of people, mobilising volunteers at pace, expanding branches under pressure to support local communities, and delivering aid in the most dangerous conditions.

For the Irish Red Cross, the exchange was a chance to learn directly from the experiences of its Ukrainian counterpart. This included preparing for floods, storms, and emergencies Ireland can face, along with strengthening volunteer mobilisation and community engagement.

Irish Red Cross chairman Charlie Flanagan said their Ukrainian colleagues brought lessons “earned under the harshest circumstances”.

They advised on how to mobilise volunteers quickly, how to keep branches resilient, and how to support communities through long crises.

“While we are far from the frontlines of conflict here in Ireland, we are not immune to disaster.

“By learning from Ukraine, we are building preparedness and resilience here at home.”

The Irish Red Cross also had valuable lessons to share during the visit. Its volunteers were heavily involved in welcoming and supporting Ukrainians, to adapt and rebuild their lives in local communities throughout Ireland.

More than 13,000 beneficiaries of temporary protection have been matched with accommodation through the Irish Red Cross Register of Pledges, with more than 6,300 homeowners pledging a spare room in their home, in a unique accommodation solution and act of solidarity in the middle of a housing crisis.

Irish Red Cross secretary general Deirdre Garvey added: “Ukrainians are now volunteering with us too, showing how quickly people want to give back.

“This exchange is about two-way learning. Ireland learning from a society under pressure and Ukraine learning from our approach to welcome and integration, and humanitarian action.”