On Friday afternoon, a small chapel in Stoneybatter, near Dublin city centre, hosted a memorial service for Vadym Davydenko, the Ukrainian teenager who was fatally stabbed after he arrived in Ireland.
Fr Serhii Danilov led mourners in a Panikhida – an Orthodox Christian vigil to pray for the soul of the recently departed.
Those in attendance did not know Vadym, but wanted to pay their respects.
“I don’t think he found friends here because [he had] quite a short time,” Fr Danilov said. “A lot of people now, every day, come to Ireland from Ukraine. How are they feeling after this situation?”
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Fr Danilov lives in an accommodation centre with 600 people, many Ukrainian. He said it could be difficult for those arriving in Ireland, having fled a war zone to arrive to state-provided accommodation for a maximum of 90 days. He loves Ireland, but said it took time to settle into new surroundings.
Fr Danilov said he was thinking of the teenager’s family.
“They’re still in Ukraine. They want to have a better life for their son, but now they have this terrible news,” he said.
Vadym (17) was stabbed fatally at an apartment complex in Donaghmede, Dublin, on Wednesday shortly after his arrival from Ukraine. A teenager has been arrested.
A friend of the Davydenko family has posted a social media message appealing for help raising up to €8,000 for the repatriation of his body to Ukraine.
Fr Danilov has been in Ireland for two months, in which time he established the Ukrainian Orthodox Parish. It is part of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Ireland, which has hosted Ukrainians in Dublin over the last couple of years.
Another mourner on Friday, Varvara Fadieieva, has attended the church since the start of 2023 shortly after she arrived here from Ukraine.
“[It’s] quite important for us knowing that there are so many similarities in Irish and Ukrainian history. We have this feeling that people here can understand our pain,” she said.
Though she did not know Vadym, Ms Fadieieva said she was very affected by his loss. There was a feeling of kinship among all Ukrainians who were suffering, she said.
“Since the beginning of the war, as Ukrainians we learned that there’s no such thing as a complete stranger. If someone is suffering, they’re our friends. If someone is Ukrainian and going through some hard things, we are friends because we have to be there for each other,” Ms Fadieieva said.
“Losing your boy at the age of 17 ... I believe [the family] had a lot of hope now that he was moving here to this beautiful country. They’d hope that he’s going to be safe here; he’s going to have a wonderful life; he’s not going to be killed by some bomb from Russian forces.
“Then this happens, and I can’t imagine how painful and frustrating it is for them.”
