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Extra.ie
7 days ago
- Politics
- Extra.ie
GAA Palestine announces "with a very heavy heart" that Ireland tour cannot proceed
In an official statement released on Instagram, GAA Palestine has announced that their planned summer trip to Ireland cannot proceed as it is no longer possible to acquire visas and depart on time. The team of 33 children and 14 mentors was scheduled to depart from the West Bank this morning and arrive in Dublin this Friday, July 18. The cancellation follows months of reported difficulty communicating with the Department of Justice, which escalated last week when GAA Palestine announced that the Irish Immigration Service had denied their visa applications. GAA Palestine said they appealed the decision, but that 'time has run out to make alternative arrangements.' 'We initially postponed departure for today, as the Department of Justice had informed us they were reviewing the appeal,' GAA Palestine wrote. 'However, the embassy in Tel Aviv is now closed…Even if visas are issued at this late stage, delays at checkpoints and borders are likely to cause severe disruptions and extended delays. Giving the children hope again, only for that hope to be dashed once more, would be too cruel.' GAA Palestine said they had a driver pick up the touring party's passports from the embassy so that they could pursue alternative travel options to other destinations 'where our children will be welcomed and celebrated.' While they are unable to visit their hosts in Ireland, they said they 'remain committed' to their mission of providing the young Palestinian athletes with 'the respite and opportunity they deserve.' 'We are profoundly upset for all our GAA Palestine members, for the clubs that went to great lengths to organise this meaningful trip, and for the families who generously volunteered to host our touring party,' GAA Palestine wrote. 'To our sponsors for their generosity, we do hope we can work together again in the future.' GAA Palestine also acknowledged rumours that they had not provided the necessary documentation in their visa applications or that they submitted their appeal too late. They refuted such claims, saying they have made all efforts to provide the required documentation and appeals on time, but that their communications had been neglected. 'Despite numerous appeals over the past week requesting engagement, we have received no response from the Department of Justice,' GAA Palestine wrote. 'Our legal team has also attempted to communicate directly with the Department, but we have once again been ignored.' In the Dil yesterday, Taoiseach Michel Martin called the situation 'perplexing' and claimed GAA Palestine had not adequately organised the trip. 'GAA Palestine has come out of left-field, to be frank,' Martin said. Sinn Fin's Ruair Murch TDsaid GAA Palestine's appeal had been lodged with the Department of Justice yesterday afternoon, a week after the team announced their plans to appeal. 'It does not sound right to me that an appeal would come in in that manner given that a week or more has passed since the original decision. The whole thing is somewhat perplexing,' Martin said. In a tense exchange with the Taoiseach, Murch urged the government to address the appeal immediately. 'Will the Taoiseach meet Stephen Redmond?' Murch said. 'He is here now. He is the founder of GAA Palestine…he is in the building at the minute….I do not understand why the Government did not deal with this, even to get it off the agenda.' 'All of it suggests that something is not right, in my view,' Martin said. 'I am not saying anything was done wrong by the organisers but the whole thing seems haphazardly organised. That is all I can say.' Read GAA Palestine's full statement below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by GAA Palestine (@gaa_palestine)
Irish Post
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Post
GAA Palestine 'beyond devastated' that children's tour to Ireland will not go ahead
AN ORGANISATION set up to bring Gaelic Games to Palestine has said it is 'beyond devastated' that a planned summer tour of Ireland will no longer go ahead. GAA Palestine was founded last year by Stephen Redmond, an Irishman living in England, who travelled to the West Bank hoping to provide some respite to those living in the war-torn region. However, after delays over visa decisions and an ongoing appeals process, the organisation has said the window of departure for their trip has passed for the party of 33 children and 12 coaches. "It is with a very heavy heart that we announce that the planned trip to Ireland can no longer proceed," said a statement from the organisation this afternoon. Appeal The GAA Palestine party had been due to travel to Ireland on July 18 for a two-week tour of the country. However, the organisation said it was informed on July 10 that their visa applications has been rejected by the Irish Immigration Service. The organisation said it had already spent €38,000 on flights after claiming it was told by the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv that tickets must be bought before visas could be approved. GAA Palestine said it was told some visas were denied due to a lack of information but claimed it had supplied all documentation and was not advised on what was supposedly missing. Over the weekend, the case received support from high-profile figures including Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Fianna Fáil Lord Mayor of Cork, Fergal Dennehy. Demonstrations were also held at Croke Park at the weekend in support of the group. After GAA Palestine members visited the Department of Justice on Monday, the organisation said it received an email outlining the appeals process. However, the indefinite amount of time needed to see an appeal through meant the issue was unlikely to be resolved before the travel date of July 18. The organisation lodged an appeal anyway but confirmed today that the delay has forced it to cancel the trip. It said that even if visas are ultimately approved, it can no longer keep to its connecting itinerary, despite delaying the departure date. 'Deeply disappointed' "The delay stemming from issues with the Department of Justice has ultimately resulted in this difficult decision, as time has run out to make alternative arrangements,' read a statement. It added: "We are deeply disappointed by the narrative that has circulated suggesting that necessary documentation was not provided or that we were late in the submission of our appeal. "We have been working diligently for months with the embassy in Israel. "Despite numerous appeals over the past week requesting engagement, we have received no response from the Department of Justice. "Our legal team has also attempted to communicate directly with the Department, but we have once again been ignored. "We are profoundly upset for all our GAA Palestine members, for the clubs that went to great lengths to organise this meaningful trip, and for the families who generously volunteered to host our touring party — transforming their homes with bunk beds and painting walls to welcome these young GAA players from the West Bank to Ireland. "To our sponsors for their generosity, we do hope we can work together again in the future. "While we are beyond devastated, we remain committed to our mission and will now proceed with Plan B, exploring other destinations where our children will be welcomed and celebrated." While not addressing the case specifically, Jim O'Callaghan, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, told RTÉ that everyone entering the country must comply with immigration rules. "There is a requirement to provide documentation if you are coming into Ireland seeking a short stay visa," he said. "In particular for children coming in, there are very specific rules in terms of consent of parents and guardians." He added: "No matter how sympathetic the applicants are, we have to make sure the rules are applied." See More: GAA Palestine, Jim O'Callaghan
Irish Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
GAA Palestine officially lodges appeal after all visas for team refused
The visas for 46 Palestinians – including 33 children aged between nine and 16 – who were due to travel to Ireland later this Friday were denied by the Irish Immigration Service last week. A GAA Palestine spokesperson told RTÉ News the organisation officially lodged the appeal today, hoping the Department of Justice will now deal with their appeal. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice previously said it will assess the appeal promptly once it is lodged, and it appreciates that the decision to refuse applications might have caused disappointment. In a statement released yesterday, the GAA Palestine said they are 'profoundly disappointed and outraged by the Department of Justice's refusal to facilitate their upcoming team trip to Ireland scheduled for July 18'. "Despite our numerous appeals and attempts to engage, the Department has dismissed our concerns and provided an appeals process that guarantees the trip cannot proceed within the timeframe required,' it said. "The GAA Palestine executive will remain in Dublin and continues to hold the evidence of our application. We are hopeful that in the final 24 hours, a resolution can be found,' it added. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Claire Liddy, a Clare native and a GAA Palestine International spokesperson, said the executives were due to meet the Department of Justice yesterday to find a resolution, but the meeting did not take place. 'We have 24 hours. To say we are disappointed, but we're also outraged, because despite providing all the documentation that we were asked for, all the visas were refused,' Ms Liddy told RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland. 'The appeals process, that offered no real opportunity for the trip to proceed, and this is very unfair and untransparent and deeply frustrating. Other agencies have successfully brought children from various countries to Ireland on similar tours. 'Yet, because our players are Palestinian, our Government is blocking their travel, and this is very, very concerning,' she claimed. ADVERTISEMENT Ms Liddy claimed the GAA Palestine has been requesting 'for several weeks' that the Department of Justice engage with them to find a resolution. 'They have not provided any officer or any help with the process, so we made the decision yesterday. Members of the GAA Palestine executive, including myself, travelled to Dublin with evidence of our application, and we were fobbed off again at the twelfth hour with an email about appealing the decision. "They didn't have the basic courtesy to meet with us, despite assuring us that we would be meeting someone yesterday, and we were left waiting around all day until 5pm,' she added. Last week, the group said it was informed by the Immigration Service that their visa applications had been refused due to 'insufficient documentation'. When asked about the reasons for refusal, Ms Liddy said: 'That's why we actually came up yesterday, I had the laptop with the evidence. We were given misinformation from the Embassy in Tel Aviv, and we have this in writing, and we did not want to go down this road. 'We've been willing to work with them for weeks. We have been in contact with them since February, and we received written correspondence from the embassy because we were looking for guidance around group visa applications. 'And even last week, we personally delivered a letter requesting the Department to meet with us to examine the documentation that we submitted, because the appeal process can be lengthy, and we've run out of time. "But they had eight weeks to review our documents, and if they believed our documentation was so inadequate, why did they wait until the final week to inform us, they only responded after we initiated a media campaign last week.' The Palestinians were meant to arrive in Dublin on Friday, July 18, and were scheduled to tour Ireland until August 1. The tour was set to see Irish and Palestinian children engage in friendly hurling matches across Ireland, showing children from the war-torn area the most important GAA sites in Ireland. 'The appeal process is lengthy. Obviously, that is like a judicial review. Are they going to guarantee that they will have this looked at within 24 hours? We've spoken to several lawyers and barristers, and they said this isn't something that can be done. 'And they left us waiting around all day yesterday. They said someone would meet us. I had the laptop with all of the evidence we have. The GAA safeguarding has been confirmed. We had letters of parental consent, parents' ID, birth certs. 'We've been asking for them to meet with us, not just this week, for weeks, and we've been met with silence. "Our team in the West Bank, with all of what was going on in the last few days, they had felt a renewed sense of hope because they saw the response and the massive waves of support coming – not only from Ireland, but all around the world, and despite our government's refusal to engage with us. 'We just want to have an open dialogue,' she added. Last week, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Harris, defended the decision to refuse travel visas for Palestinian children due to take part in a GAA tour of Ireland. The Fine Gael leader said in the Dáil there were 'legitimate checks in relation to child protection' involved, even though the tour body from the West Bank says it has repeatedly sent documentation and been ignored. Mr Harris pointed to an appeals process as a possible way forward, even though the tour was scheduled to take place this month and hosts were in place. Meanwhile, there were protests in Croke Park last Saturday, where a banner, which said 'let them play', was displayed as an appeal to the Irish Immigration Service.
Irish Independent
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘Let them play' – Protests at Croke Park as Palestinian children denied visas for GAA tour to Ireland
At 5.33 this evening a loud bang sounded from behind Hill 16 and a banner was unfurled in Croke Park's Upper Cusack Stand. It said 'Let Them Play', an appeal to the Irish Immigration Service who last week denied visa applications for a group of young Palestinian players and mentors ahead of a summer tour to Ireland.
Irish Daily Mirror
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Simon Harris defends controversial visa refusal for Palestine GAA kids
Tánaiste Simon Harris has defended the refusal of visas for children travelling from Palestine to play GAA in Ireland as he argued it is a 'child protection matter'. GAA Palestine had planned to bring in 33 Palestinian children and young teenagers to Ireland later this month for a tour, but were denied entry. They were to be accompanied by 14 mentors. The tour was scheduled to begin on 18 July, with more than 100 Irish families volunteering to host the Palestinian group, and numerous GAA clubs fundraising to support the visit. A spokesman for GAA Palestine said it was shocked by the decision of the Irish Immigration Service. It argued that it submitted comprehensive documentation, which included detailed plans for visits to various GAA clubs across Ireland, educational exchanges, and cultural activities as part of its application. In the Dáil, Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty described the decision to reject the visa applications as 'cruel'. In response, Mr Harris said there were 'child protection issues' associated with the case. He said: 'We are not just talking about 33 children seeking to come to Ireland. We are also talking about a number of adults, almost all of whom are not the parents of any of the children. 'We have strict rules on migration and who can come into our country. It has to be a rules-based system. I do not want to go too far into the application. I am sure everyone is engaging in good faith. 'There is certainly not an effort by the State to seek to block or be difficult here. I am engaging in good faith on this too. There are rules and processes. There is an appeals process available.' Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney stated that GAA Palestine is 'adamant' that the paperwork is in order and argued that 'if this was a group of Israeli kids because the rules-based system has different rules for different groups they would enjoy visa-free travel here'. However, the Tánaiste denied the charge and once again insisted that the rules have to be followed. He continued: 'We are not tearing up our rules-based migration system. If God forbid anything happened to any child from any part of this country who came in here unaccompanied by a parent, the Minister would be hauled in here and asked what he did and why did he let it happen. 'Child protection matters. There is no short circuit. There is no round the back of the scrum. Do not dare do Israel versus Palestine. This is child protection. We have a visa system. We have rules on this.' A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that 'each visa application is decided on its own merits'. 'Confirming that appropriate child protection requirements are in place is essential when considering visa applications for minors. This includes a requirement that a child is travelling with their parents or an appropriate guardian, which requires additional documents to be verified such as birth certificates and consent letters.' Steven Redmond, chairperson of GAA Palestine, said it is committed to working with the department to resolve the issue. He added: 'Seven days before these young boys and girls were meant to leave the West Bank, we are told that additional documentation is now required — documentation that was already provided or never previously requested or indicated as necessary. 'We went as far as sending a volunteer to the West Bank to assist with additional documentation that was requested as part of our application. 'Nonetheless, GAA Palestine remains committed to collaborating closely with the Department of Justice to resolve this matter swiftly. We have a dedicated team of volunteers ready to respond and take immediate action. 'We are fully prepared to see this process through. We kindly ask the Government to partner with us in making this happen.'
