It is the will of the Irish people for GAA Palestine for the team to tour Ireland, a spokesperson for the club has claimed.
In May, the club applied for visas for 33 Palestinian hurlers and 14 mentors to travel to Ireland for a summer tour.
Earlier this week, the group was informed their applications had been rejected by the Department of Justice.
On Lunchtime Live, club founder Stephen Redmond said the group were devastated by the refusal.
“We’ve had a number of emergency meetings,” he said.
“People are distressed around the country on this matter; we’ve hundreds of volunteers who’ve put in thousands of hours of work into this.
“To be let down at the eleventh hour… I mean, what can I say?”
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Mr Redmond continued that they simply “want to make this work” and bring the children to Ireland to play hurling.
“There is time for this to be done,” he said.
“We want to see this through.
“If I could quote our international spokesperson, ‘If it was [based on] the will of Irish people, the Palestinian GAA club would already be here.’
“But we have to ask, is it the will of the Department of Justice?”
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Tánaiste Simon Harris has defended the system, arguing that “every visa has to be issued on its merits”, adding that there must be “legitimate checks in relation to child protection”.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said she was “really distressed” to hear visa applications for the club had been rejected and urged the Government to reconsider.
Main image: GAA Palestine banner. Picture by: Alamy.com.
