14 hours ago
Land of a Thousand Welcomes? Ireland doesn't seem to be after GAA Palestine's trip for kids was cruelly denied
THE Land of a Thousand Welcomes? Perhaps not . . .
The charity group GAA Palestine recently
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33 children had been due to arrive in Ireland on Friday
Credit: Social Media Collect
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Support was shown for them during the All-Ireland football semi-finals
Credit: Sportsfile
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Donegal legend Brendan Devenney did his best to convince Micheál Martin to act on the matter
Understandably, the group were on cloud nine at the prospect of leaving their war-torn homeland. A four-night stay in Dublin was due to kick off the trip on Friday.
A VIP tour of
Donegal legend Brendan Devenney was due to meet the group in his county next week before they returned to Palestine on August 1.
That was until last week when all 47 visa applications that were submitted in mid-May were refused and desperate pleas to the Department of Justice
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That decision saw protests take place at last weekend's All-Ireland football semi-finals at Croke Park. Big-hearted Devenney was a full-blooded forward who played with passion during his Donegal days.
And that passion was there for all to see at the weekend when he was on BBC duty for
Taoiseach
And as Martin left the field, Devenney seized the moment and door-stepped him.
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Devenney revealed to SunSport: 'Can you imagine the outpouring of emotion these children would have got when they came here?
'You saw me tackle Micheál Martin, he had the power to stop it. He seems like a nice enough man, but my life and job is with people.
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'I just said, 'I'm involved in this trip for the Palestinian kids, I'm in charge of the Donegal leg and we need to get this done'.
'The documentation was accepted in the Irish embassy in Israel and €38,000 had to be paid in flights, and they insisted that the flights were paid for up front as part of this, and now that money can't be refunded.
'He said it's down to the Department of Justice, but he has the overall say in all of these departments.
"So many people want this to happen, and so many people have put so much time, energy, and money into this yet the Government has blocked it, and it's a complete joke.'
GAA Palestine travelled to the Department of Justice on Monday in an 11th-hour plea to have the visas approved.
But after hours of waiting, they were told to enter an appeals process — scuppering the group's planned arrival on Friday.
DOJ REPLY
SunSport contacted The Department of Justice and their reply read: 'The Department appreciates that the decision to refuse these applications has caused disappointment.
'These applications were given very careful consideration and the reasons for their refusal have been communicated in the decision letter.
'Each visa application is decided on its own merits. However, it is the case that the organisation of an event, no matter how good the intention, does not guarantee that a visa will be subsequently granted.
'Applications made on behalf of minors who are not travelling in the company of their parents must be supported with evidence that appropriate child protection measures are in place during the visit.
'In all cases, evidence of financial means, employment or other ties that indicate a person intends to return home are important criteria.'
GAA Palestine insist all documentation and supporting evidence requested was submitted.
And that final paragraph of the Department statement grates given that this a group of mainly children who are coming from a war zone.
Is this Ireland? Is this really us? Let Them Play.
