'Deeply disheartened' - GAA Palestine lodges official appeal amid denied visas

An official appeal has been lodged by the GAA Palestine group following the denial of visas for their trip to Ireland which was planned for this month.

The team of 47, which included 33 children and 14 mentors from the West Bank in Palestine were due to arrive in Ireland this Friday for a summer tour but were denied entry by the Department of Justice who said they "understand the disappointment" the denial has caused.

An appeal was lodged on Tuesday afternoon and a spokesperson has said they hope the department will deal with it promptly.

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A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said,

"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 even, 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 has posted about the appeal on their social media, providing links and emails so the public can help them in any way.

The post said,

"We are extremely disappointed and outraged by the Department of Justices refusal to allow our team to travel to Ireland for our scheduled trip on 18th July.

"We have just 24 hours left to make the dreams of 33 young GAA players hoping to arrive in Ireland on 18th July come true."

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GAA Palestine has also said that the department has told them that the appeals process would take an "indefinite amount of time" and that "effectively prevents" their trip from going ahead.

"We requested the Department of Justice to engage directly with us to verify and provide assurance that all documentations was in order, but our efforts were met with silence," said a spokesperson.

GAA Palestine's founder Stephen Redmond has said the were "deeply disheartened and outraged" over the decision and has called on Irish authorities to reconsider.

"Despite providing all necessary documentation and engaging in good faith, we have been met with dismissiveness and an appeals process that, in reality, guarantees our trip will not happen. This is not just a logical setback; it's a blatant disregard for fairness, transparency, and the spirit of sport that unites us all.

"We genuinely want to come together and work constructively to remedy this situation. We are ready and available to engage in meaningful dialogue and to explore any options that might all our players to participate", said Mr Redmond.