Introducing Niamh Phelan, founding member of the new D8 Refugee Community Sponsorship group...

I have lived in the Liberties for the last 15 years, in Ardee St and now in Maryland. I am always interested to meet new friends and I look forward to welcoming a new refugee family to our Dublin 8 Community.

In 2018, I hosted a Syrian man to live in my home for a year and a half through a Red Cross program, and found the experience to be one of the most fun and meaningful things I have undertaken. It was an amazing opportunity to learn about another culture and the journeys some people have to make to live a peaceful life.

I made so many friends through that program, including new arrivals from Syria and Iraq, and other hosts across the country. We found Dublin 8 to be a very welcoming community and I have been looking for new opportunities to assist refugee families in their integration journey. The Community Sponsorship Ireland program has been very successful in it's pilot stages and I hope that we can make this a successful community initiative in Dublin 8.