Consular assistance being provided to
family of Achill man killed in Ukraine

THE Department of Foreign Affairs are offering consular assistance to the family of an Achill man who was killed in Ukraine in recent days.

The death of Finbar Cafferkey, a native of Cashel, Achill was confirmed by members of his family who received news in recent days that the 44-year-old had been killed by Russian Forces while he was eastern Ukraine. The circumstances of Mr Cafferkey's death remain unclear but it is understood that the family were informed of his death by his colleagues in Ukraine.

The Department of Foreign Affairs are currently liaising with the Irish Embassy in Kiev and with Ukrainian authorities to determine the circumstances surrounding his death. They stated they were offering consular assistance to his family.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance. As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of any individual case,” a Department statement read.

Mr Cafferkey had been providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine for a number of months which involved transporting supplies to the front lines to civilians and combatants caught up in the Russian invasion.

There was widespread shock in Achill when word of his death spread quickly on the island on Wednesday. The Cafferkey family are well-known in the community having run Ted Lavelle's Pub in Cashel on Achill Island for many years.

Mr Cafferkey was known as a social campaigner and was involved in the Shell to Sea campaign and in 2015 he went to Greece to assist refugees fleeing the war in Syria. In 2017, he travelled to northern Syria to join the Kurdish militia group YPG in its fight against the Islamic State.

People Before Profit TD, Paul Murphy was among the many people who paid tribute to Mr Cafferkey following news of his death.

“This is horrendous news,” he wrote on his Twitter page. “I got to know Finbar in the Shell2Sea campaign in Rossport. He was warm hearted, quiet courageous and very smart. As is said here, he 'was a man of principle'. My solidarity and sympathy to Finbar's family and friends.”