Palestine GAA club 'doing all they can' to make Irish tour happen after visa rejections
GAA Palestine had hoped to bring the 47 Palestinians to Ireland on July 18 for a tour that included stops in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
These included 33 children, aged between 9 and 16 years of age, who have been learning hurling since January of last year.
However, in a statement on Wednesday evening, the group confirmed the news of the visa rejection.
The group wrote: "Our Irish visa applications for the GAA Palestine summer tour have been refused by the Irish Immigration Service.
To say we are deeply disappointed is an understatement. We will be appealing this decision immediately.
The statement added: "Our hearts right now are with the 33 children and 14 mentors who are so looking forward to being welcomed to Ireland next week.
"Against all odds, we're doing all we can to make this tour happen. We're not giving up hope."
Speaking to the Irish Examiner last year, GAA Palestine founder Stephen Redmond explained how the club was providing hope to the children in the West Bank.
He said; 'This is a major thing — they feel recognised within the GAA as special."
'They're young heroes, they've been through more than any of us, I can't express how big it is — wait to see what happens when they go to Ireland!
'For us, it's very humbling to see the excitement from them,' Mr Redmond added.
Young boys living in Ramallah, the West Bank started training in hurling with the hopes of one day playing the GAA sport here in Ireland this summer.
A letter of support sent by a school principal in Ireland was extremely touching for the children — 'it showed she actually cared – it's so big to them,' Mr Redmond said.
At that time, the Ramallah Hurling Club had 24 members — 20 kids, a bainisteoir, a coach, and a projects manager.
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Hurling in Ramallah: How Palestinian children are getting to grips with GAA
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