Testimonial 1:

My name is Konstantina and I am Greek.

In January 2020, my husband and I decided to come to Dublin in order to live and work in the capital town of Ireland.

After two months the difficult period of the Covid-19 Pandemic began. Our first thought was to askfor help from the Hellenic Community of Ireland. This help was very important because, in the beginning, we didn’t know where to go, our English language level didn’t allow us to get in touch with Irish citizens and the Irish government system as well as, to find a solution. We were thinking of leaving the country, but in the end, the Hellenic Community of Ireland helped us to stay.

So, now we can feel safer to stay and get over difficulties, learn the Irish system better and we belong to a bigger family. We felt we are more integrated into the Irish Society.

Sincerely,

Konstantina

 

Testimonial 2:

We moved to Dublin in September 2019 and we would really like to thank the Hellenic Community for making our stay easier and more pleasant.

We were very lucky to meet the president of the community, Stella Xenopoulou, during our first month in Dublin. She is a very generous person and she made us feel really welcomed. She introduced us to other members of the Hellenic Community and gave us the opportunity to get involved in the activities of the business branch of the community, especially in organising the annual Greek Business and Arts Festival.

The Hellenic community keeps the Greek spirit alive in Ireland, helps Greek people to network, Greek businesses to penetrate the Irish market and operates the Greek school where young Greek students learn the Greek language, culture and history. We attended various events organised by the community such as the Greek school Christmas celebration, the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic, the Works of Nikos Kazantzakis event and the Greek Business and Arts Festival.  

The Hellenic community of Ireland has a really helpful site where all necessary information regarding one’s stay in Ireland can be found (information about health insurance, finding a job, tax issues etc.). It is worth visiting the site even before moving to Ireland.

Once again, we would really like to thank the Hellenic community and especially Stella for supporting us during a challenging period of our life.

 

Kind regards,

Katerina and Giorgos

To all concerned

 

Testimonial 3

The Role of the Hellenic Community of Ireland

The Hellenic Community of Ireland plays a very vital role with all the Greeks who come to Ireland. Its importance for us when we came here was to have a feeling at home with people who originated from our own native country. We got to know each other and exchanged information.

My own story started with meeting the President, the Secretary, and the Cashier, all very helpful and cooperative people. It was important at that stage to have a helping hand and an urge to take part in the Community’s events. In particular, I started my business on the 23^rd February 2020 during the Arts and Business Festival very well-organised by the whole team. It was a very interesting and rewarding day. I had the chance to take a step forward. The fact that I was surrounded by this group of volunteers, made me feel more confident to start my new undertaking.

As a former School Principal and a teacher of English in Greece, I would also like to mention the role of the Greek School in the Greek Community. I have to acknowledge the importance of keeping the mother language alive within families. The Community has set up and is still keeping a school for Greek students to learn or improve their native language which is by itself very significant. My children did not need to attend as they were already old enough when they moved into the country. However, we have to acknowledge the school’s definite role: Not only does it elongate our native country’s tradition; it also brings balance and harmony within emigrated families. 

Pagona Panagiotidi