On Friday the 22nd of April, we welcomed over 100 guests from the Ukraine to Celtic Steps The Show at our home of the Killarney Racecourse.
For many months, we’ve all watched what’s been unfolding in the Ukraine with great sadness.
A couple of weeks ago, our Show Producer, Sean Murphy had a chance encounter with a Ukrainian woman and her child at the Innisfallen Hotel in Killarney and it felt like the right time to practice some good old fashioned Irish hospitality. He invited them and the wider group to the Show in the hope that the music might help raise their spirits.
On the night we played host to the group by introducing them to the magic of Irish music, dance and culture, with a spectacular line-up of high energy jigs and reels as performed by our world champion Irish musicians and dancers.
The Ukrainian group were collected from their place of residency at the Killarney Innisfallen Hotel, courtesy of Flynn Coaches and transported to the Killarney Racecourse, where they were greeted by a sea of blue and yellow balloons at the entrance to the theatre.
The highlight of the night was the performance of the Ukrainian National Anthem by the Celtic Steps Musicians, who had taken the time earlier in the day to practice and learn the piece.
Many of the guests were touched by the gesture and one guest Natalya Krasnenkova remarked on social media later that night saying “Celtic Steps The Show, thank you so much for the Ukrainian Anthem, we appreciate it a lot, we were in tears, Slava Ukraine!”
It was an emotional end to a wonderful evening and one that we will not forget for quite some time.
We were delighted to welcome all our friends from the Ukraine to the Show and Ireland and we hope they have a nice time in Kerry for as long as they are here…
