‘It was very emotional to see old neighbours and friends and keep my promise to Nana’

A TRIM woman has just returned from an emotional journey to war torn Ukraine, having kept her promise to her beloved grandmother that she would one day bring her home.

When Luba Healy brought her then 99-year-old grandmother, Galina Vituck, out of Ukraine to Trim two years ago to escape the war, she promised her she would one day bring her home.

Sadly Galina who was now 101, died last month, but Luba kept her promise and brought her back to her home town of Kirovorgad, where she is now buried with her beloved husband, Mykhalo Vituck.

It was a gruelling 3,500km journey and brought them though bleak warn torn terrain, where they saw the destruction wrought by the war and heard the constant noise of sirens.

“There were so many destroyed buildings, so many sirens and people looked so sad. It didn't feel safe, but it was very emotional to see old neighbours and friends and to keep my promise to Nana,” said Luba.

In may 2022, Luba travelled to Ukraine to rescue her mother, Nina and Galina and bring them to safety in Trim.

Galina died on 16th January and a funeral mass was said in St Patrick's Church the following Friday, where it was noted that despite records going back 400 years, she was the first Ukrainian to have a funeral mass in the parish.

Immediately afterwards Luba was sitting in the Ukrainian Embassy, her husband Eugene was in the Department of Foreign Affairs and they had friends visit the French and Polish Embassies, all trying to pave the way for the overland journey with Galina's remains to her beloved Ukraine.

Luba, Eugene and their family, as well as Luba's mother, Nina and a family friend undertook the journey in a donated ambulance and a camper van.

“The ambulance was donated to us and we filled it with humanitarian aid for Ukraine, as well as my Nana's coffin and flowers.”

“Unfortunately we couldn't bring the camper van into Ukraine because insurance wouldn't cover it, so we had to leave it at the border and most of us crossed the border into Ukraine on foot.”

An Irish priest, Fr Taddeus, is based in Luba's hometown of Kirovorgad, and he sent a minibus to meet them at the border and they began the final leg of Galina's trip home.

“It is took us six hours to get across the border, but the Ukrainian Embassy in Ireland had given us all the necessary paperwork and we got through and we travelled home.

Galina's remains were brought home to her own house, where the local community and Galina's neighbours came out to meet the funeral and they opened the coffin for the wake.

“Nana was beautiful and peaceful and everybody got a chance to say goodbye. It was very emotional seeing everyone again.”

The ambulance and the supplies it was carrying were donated to a local humanitarian aid organisation.

Despite the emotional reunion with the people where she grew up, Luba says it was a frightening experience as the air raid sirens were going all the time.

“A lot of people just don't bother going to the shelters. There just seems to be acceptance - they say if we are hit we are hit. Our neighbours looked really, really sad. I couldn't sleep while we were there.”

The Healy family returned to the Polish border by train, a difficult 20 hour journey .

“There were bombed out buildings everywhere, there was so much destruction and we felt very vulnerable.”

It was a relief to get to the Polish border, but it was heartbreaking for Luba to leave behind her home country in such a state.

“It is so sad to see my home in such a state, but I am glad we made the journey, which took us two weeks.

“I hope one day when the war is over, we can return and I'll get Nana a nice headstone and plant flowers around it.”