The Gaelic Games in Palestine (GAA-P) organization has lodged an official appeal after its team was refused travel visas to Ireland, where they planned to go on a “cultural and sporting tour.”
The Gaelic Athletic Association is the Irish international amateur sporting body focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, and Gaelic handball. The Palestinian branch aims to bring Gaelic games to the Ramallah region.
Thirty-three children aged nine to 16 were set to leave for a two-week tour of Ireland on July 18, however, the Irish Immigration Service denied the visas for all of them, as well as the 14 accompanying adults. According to the GAA, 40 dancers and musicians from the Lajee Center in Bethlehem were also denied visas.
Claire Liddy, international spokesperson for GAA Palestine, told RTÉ Radio One on Tuesday that an appeal had been lodged.
“The appeals process 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 [Irish] government is blocking their travel, and this is very, very concerning.”
Tour planned to bring kids to Dublin
The GAA summer tour planned to bring the children to Dublin to play hurling, “swim in the sea, get to see an All-Ireland hurling final, see a castle, climb Mount Errigal,” and more, according to the group.
According to one social media post, one of the reasons given for refusal was “insufficient evidence submitted of strong obligations to return to your home country.”
“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,” said Steven Redmond, chairman of GAA Palestine. “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.
“Volunteers across Ireland are just utterly and completely devastated after all the work and effort put into making this tour happen. It’s heartbreaking to see such a promising cultural exchange fall apart at the very last moment.”
According to Redmond, more than 100 Irish families volunteered to host the Palestinian group.
Various Irish figures and politicians have come out against their government’s decision, including Ruairí McHugh, mayor of Derry and Strabane, who asked for “compassion and decency and to ensure visas are secured.” Similar sentiments were echoed by the mayor of Cork, the leader of Sinn Féin, and the prime minister.
The GAA said it will lose €38,000 if the trip is canceled, which was spent on tickets for flights to Ireland. The Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv insists that flights be purchased before visa approval, the GAA said.
“In response, we are actively exploring alternative locations for a summer camp to ensure our players can participate in meaningful sporting activities,” it said.