The sisters, who before the war had been performing classical violin to the highest levels, are all winners and holders of distinction in various international and Ukrainian competitions and have taken numerous Master classes with renowned musicians from Europe and the USA.

They performed from their repertoire in the foyer on the night before concert-goers took seats in the theatre for a night described by Jimmy Deenihan, one those heavily involved in the running of the Tinteán since it’s grand re-opening, as both a “huge success” and very emotional.

“It was a huge success. We had maybe 80 Ukrainian refugees there on the night and it was a very emotional occasion for them. The fact they would have been out in theatres listening to classical music back in Ukraine only back in January of this year and now here they are after so much has happened, there were some emotional scenes. Some of them [the Ukrainian refugees] even shed a few tears,” said Jimmy speaking to The Kerryman.

“We got a bus, courtesy of the Kerry Education and Training Board (KETB) who sponsored the bus, and we sponsored the passes for the refugees on the night then,” he continued.

Going forward, Jimmy said that the future is looking bright for the Ballybunion theatre.

“The Irish Chamber Orchestra, they were very impressed with the venue and we’re hoping that it will become an annual event going forward and that the orchestra will put the Tinteán in Ballybunion on their calendar of events for the year,” he said.

“It’s full steam ahead for the Tinteán and we are very happy with how everything is going since the re-opening and we have a great line-up of events coming up so it’s looking good,” he finished.