Ukraine war: Calderdale solicitor helps Ukrainian refugees after her own family have to flee bombing

Ukrainian-born Iryna O’Reilly, who works for Manchester firm Barings Law, is helping to process asylum applications free of charge.

She is also using her own experience of the immigration system – which she says cost her a dream job six years ago - to make the process simpler for those seeking a better life in the UK.

Having lived in England for more than 20 years, Iryna achieved her Law degree from the University of Manchester in 2010 and went on to qualify as a solicitor.

Her own asylum application was made while working for another firm in 2016, where she needed a spouse visa to start a new role.

But due to delays processing it, she had to turn the opportunity down.

Now a successful member of Barings Law, she’s spoken of her pain at seeing the desperate situation back home and says she wants to help Ukrainian nationals seeking asylum on a pro bono basis.

“The personal struggles I faced while building my life and career in the UK have shaped who I am as a person and solicitor,” said Iryna.

“I always approach a case or a situation with compassion, understanding and fairness.

“I’m very thankful to Barings Law, who’ve given me opportunities I could never have imagined.

“A year on, and we must not look back at the war with acceptance. It’s shaken Ukraine politically, economically, and on a humanitarian level and I know the challenges many Ukrainians have been facing.

“It’s heart-wrenching watching the news to see places I used to go absolutely destroyed.

“My family had to flee Ukraine last year and have not been able to return back home.

"My 10-year-old goddaughter and her family had to escape to a neighbouring village and hide in a cellar while sirens were going off.

“With thousands of people displaced, families losing their loved ones or having to flee the war zone, I personally feel that it is my duty as a Ukrainian to assist those in need especially with legal paperwork which many will find difficult in a foreign language.”