Solidarity from Irish Writers to the People of Ukraine

War is a disaster. Today we stand like many others shocked and dismayed by the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. We oppose this invasion, oppose this war, and stand for Ukraine to live as an independent country, determining its own destiny.

People who know Irish history know how much we value our independence and freedom. The Irish Writers Union offers its solidarity today to the Ukrainian community, to its writers and writers’ organisations.

Many people and members of the Irish Writers Union will recall the huge mobilisations that took place across the world in 2003 against the US-backed invasion of Iraq. Predictions were made at the time about what might happen to Iraq when a war machine as great as that of the USA’s moved against it. Those predictions all underestimated the deaths, the injuries and the sheer destruction that the US war bestowed on Iraq. Today, like so many others, we can only look on as this new disaster unfolds. We know that it will be ordinary people who will suffer the most because of this invasion. But we do not know where this war will go, what it will lead to, or how much damage it will leave in its wake. We can only look at history and know that no good will come from what has just happened.

As writers we cannot do a great deal at this time other than to speak out, but we want to do so as loudly as we can. We stand in solidarity with the writing community across Europe and with the European Writers Council in condemning this war. End it now.

Kevin Doyle

Chairperson

Irish Writers Union