Ceann Comhairle launches Ukraine War photo exhibition to mark one year anniversary of war

The exhibition presents 27 images, some graphic, that convey the atrocities inflicted on the Ukrainian people.

The launch took place in Leinster House 2000 and was attended by the Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Feargháil, the Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann, Senator Jerry Buttimer, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland H.E Larysa Gerasko, guests from the Ukrainian Embassy, TDs and Senators; and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

The Ceann Comhairle and the former Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann Senator Mark Daly travelled to Ukraine in April 2022 at the invitation of the Ceann Comhairle’s counterpart in the Ukraine Parliament, H.E. Mr. Ruslan Stefanchuk. 

Speaking at the launch, the Ceann Comhairle said: “We witnessed first-hand the barbarity being inflicted on our fellow European democracy of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”

“When we visited the town of Bucha with Speaker Stefanchuk, to witness the destruction and death left by Russian forces, he asked if we would be willing to host this exhibition in the Oireachtas.”

“The photographs speak for themselves. Putin’s monstrous war continues and the photographs on display here demonstrate the justifiable cause for revulsion across the democratic world.”

Notes to Editor

Maxwells Photography will send photos of the exhibition to newsdesks.

(Please be advised, many of the images in the exhibition include graphic depictions of violence, injury and death and may not be suitable for all audiences.)

 On March 31^st  2022, the Ukrainian City of Bucha, Kyiv region, was liberated from the Russian occupiers. For 28 days, people lived without electricity, water, heat and communication, cooking food in their yards on firewood. Russians shot civilians for trying to go outside in search of food.

For burial, as in the Middle Ages, a mass grave appeared in Bucha near the Church of St. Andrew. After liberation, 116 bodies were exhumed from it. Also, the shot residents were just lying on the streets of Bucha. In particular, more than 40 bodies were collected from one Yablunska Street.

These photos documented that time. They were made by Reuters journalists from April 2nd to 6th, 2022, immediately after the liberation of the City. Later, the agency graciously granted the right to publicly display these photos to Bucha City Council, which resumed its operation after de-occupation.

The film “Mariupol. Unlost Hope.” (with English subtitles) will go on show in the AV Room in Leinster House from 1-2pm each sitting day, for the next two weeks, following the exhibition launch.