Thirty-three Palestinian children were due to walk onto the hallowed turf of Croke Park in Dublin on Sunday for the All-Ireland Hurling Final, organised by one of the great Irish institutions, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

The much-anticipated clash between long-time rivals Cork and Tipperary is expected to draw in over a million viewers, but as final day approaches, the rejection of visa applications for the GAA Palestine visitors has overshadowed the event, a highlight in the Irish cultural calendar.

The scandal — dubbed Visagate — was splashed across Irish dailies this week with talk of political repercussions for Taoiseach Micheal Martin, with some describing this as the “government’s Waterloo“.

In Ireland, 152 families had volunteered to host the children and their guardians, while GAA clubs across the island were raising funds to make the trip happen, highlighting the deep affinity with Palestinians in Ireland and pride in hurling’s growing popularity in Palestine, a sport with a long history in resistance to occupation and oppression.

Scandal

It is now apparent that the young Palestinian hurlers will be denied the dream opportunity of watching the final among 80,000 spectators at the home of GAA, and ‘Visagate’ has sparked anger across the political board, seeing it is a betrayal of decades of support for Palestine in Ireland.

Songs have been written about the children’s plight, and campaigners are vowing to continue the campaign for the coming months, to remind politicians and parties of their role in the scandal during the November 2025 presidential election. 

Sinn Fein TD Mark Ward is one of the Irish parliamentarians leading the push to allow the children in, honouring the Irish republicans’ long tradition of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

“The refusal by the Department of Justice to allow 33 children and their mentors to travel to Ireland for two weeks with GAA Palestine is shocking and impossible to understand, as is the refusal of the government to engage with the club to try to sort it out,” Ward told The New Arab.

“Huge time and resources have gone into this short trip to give the children an opportunity to play hurling and to give them some respite from the daily trauma they are living through. I want to urge the government to reconsider this decision. Do the right thing. Let the kids play!”

Ireland’s Ministry of Justice insists that the visa rejections were not politically motivated, and GAA Palestine was allowed to address their concerns so that the decision could be reconsidered.

“An appeal was received by the Department on the afternoon of July 15th from the group’s solicitor, which was acknowledged and has been receiving immediate attention,” the Ministry of Justice wrote to The New Arab.

“These requirements apply to all those who apply and they cannot be waived for sporting events no matter how good the intention.”

Let them in

Stephen Redmond, chairman of the GAA Palestine, said that safeguarding issues had been addressed and that the Palestinian Authority had approved the guardians appointed for the children, so he was perplexed by the ministry’s decision.

“This was going to be a pioneering and historic day, where GAA Palestine were going to march out onto Croke Park on the biggest day of the sporting calendar and transmitted across the world to the Irish diaspora, as well as all of Ireland, and unfortunately we were denied visas at the 11th hour,” he told The New Arab.

“The issue has the support of the Irish people across the island and the GAA is the greatest institution that has come out Ireland, it is everything that is good about the country… we are a country that loves the Palestinians, yet this is the experience the children are having with us right now.”

Few parts of Europe have demonstrated as much sympathy and commitment toward the Palestinians as Ireland. The Irish government itself recognised the State of Palestine last year and has intervened in South Africa’s case at the ICJ, which describes Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide.

Irish citizens continue to be at the forefront of this solidarity with the Palestinian cause by organising fundraisers, weekly protests for Gaza, and showing an overall understanding of the mutual historic experiences of the two countries as victims of oppression and colonialism.

“There is a deep connection between Palestine and Ireland, and what has shown for me during my visit to Palestine is the kindness of the people, in particular because I was Irish,” said Redmond.

“Whenever our coaches go to Palestine and we tell them we are Irish, the people always smile and tell us this is our second home.”

Gaelic Games

Culture and sports have been essential modes of expression for this sense of solidarity with the GAA Palestine’s mission, which extends well beyond promoting Gaelic games in the occupied territories.

Redmond describes GAA Palestine’s mission as “healing through sports”, with the association providing Palestinian children with trauma and first aid training, counselling, and financial support to allow them to continue their education through the pioneering GAA Academy.

Coaches also teach Palestinian children everything there is to know about hurling, played for around 3,000 years and recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. 

“The tagline of GAA is ‘where we all belong’, it unites us across all political divides, ethnicities… it is about teamwork, comradeship, camaraderie, and supporting one another,” said Redmond.

“It is the oldest and fastest field sport in the world, so you have to be very agile, have great hand to eye coordination, and be an intelligent and quick to play.”

Palestinian journalist Osama Nazzal described the volunteers and coaches of GAA Palestine as “akin to the diplomatic service of Ireland” with five hurling teams formed in Palestine and massive potential for the sport to grow in Palestine.

While there is deep disappointment about the government’s decision, GAA Palestine will watch the match together with their coaches and supporters in Jordan, with hopes that the children will be able to watch the All-Ireland Gaelic football final in August.

“We are going out to Jordan in order to celebrate the All Ireland with these children so they can get something out of this,” Redmond said.

“We want GAA Palestine to be a long-term project and fraternal friendship, where we can support each other, well after Palestinian emancipation.”

 

GAA Palestine is a volunteer charity looking to promote Gaelic Games and support Palestinian children in the Occupied Territories. You can find out more about the organisation here: https://whydonate.com/fundraising/field-of-hope-gaa-palestine-fundraiser-for-future-champions