‘Back in Ukraine we could not tell people we were a couple...Ireland is more progressive to be gay’

Maryna Zaretska (left) and Irina Koshelivia (right), with Mykyta (11), Kseniia (16) and Mykhalio (eight months)

Sylvia Omorodion

More than a year since the Russian’s invasion of their home, a Ukrainian couple now living in Ireland are looking forward to celebrating their first Pride parade as they mark Refugee Week 2023 with a sense of hope and gratitude.

Maryna Zaretska (36) and her partner Irina Koshelivia (46) live in Dublin with Maryna’s two children from her previous marriage, daughter Kseniia (16) and son Mykyta (11). Their first child together, son Mykhalio, was born in Dublin eight months ago.

“We feel completely safe here because back in Ukraine, my partner and I could not tell people we were a couple. We used to say we were friends who supported each other,” said Maryna.

“We lived together for eight years and people just assumed she was my cousin, or my friend.

“Ireland is more progressive to be gay. Everyone here knows we are partners and that’s okay. It is way easier to be a queer couple here, our new friends here all know we are a family.

“Now we can just be together, and we don’t need to explain to anyone why. Here we are just a normal couple, a normal family,” Maryna said.

The family arrived in Ireland a year ago, having persevered through the constant bombing of their home city of Kyiv for as long as possible. They moved to another city in Ukraine where they thought they would be safer, before finally making the decision to flee the country altogether and head to Ireland.

“When we realised that we couldn’t return to Kyiv, we made the decision to move to Ireland. We took the bus to Poland and then flew to Ireland,” Maryna said.

“It was very difficult to stay in Kyiv because places were being bombed all the time. It was scary because we could not sleep in fear of something happening.

“In Ukraine, we had a great life. Good jobs, good school. When we came here, we had to start from scratch.”

The family have now been living in Dublin since last August after being offered a house by an Irish family.

“We had fantastic support from our Irish family. They gave us a place to live, paid for my daughter’s and son’s school fees,” said Maryna.

“In Ukraine, my son was not very sporty and now he does rugby, and he is absolutely happy to go school every day. All the boys in school support him. They spend a fantastic time together, they play, and they study together.

“It is unbelievable and unexpected because he gets to live a normal life,” she added.

Meanwhile, Kseniia (16) plans to continue her education in Ireland after recently finishing secondary school in Ukraine.

“She was attending online classes in her Ukrainian school while she was a transition year student in Ireland,” said Maryna.

This Saturday Maryna and Irina will be marching in Dublin’s Pride Parade. The couple also participated in an art installation in the Photo Museum Ireland in honour of Refugee Week.