A representative of GAA Palestine in the West Bank has sent a heartfelt plea to Irish authorities asking them to reverse a decision to deny visa applications for a group of its players and mentors ahead of a summer tour.
Speaking to RTÉ News from the refugee camp he now calls home, Ali - not his real name - said: "We are asking every free person in this dark world - don't kill our children's dreams.
"We are searching for our right to travel to Ireland to play hurling. To see the beach, to see the sea. To feel free for a few minutes, to feel we can move without checkpoints, without borders.
"Without anyone asking us 'where are you going?' Without anyone telling us, 'you can't go anywhere'. We are asking every free person in the world to support us," he said.
GAA Palestine's founder has called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to step in to prevent Palestinian children "being devastated" after a group of its players had their visas to Ireland denied.
GAA Palestine has said it will "not give up hope" and is working to appeal the decision by the Irish Immigration Service to deny visa applications for a group of its players and mentors ahead of a summer tour.
Its founder, Stephen Redmond said: "They are going to be devastated."
A team of 33 children and 14 mentors were due to travel to Ireland for a summer tour, but have been denied entry.
GAA Palestine had sought clarity on the status of their visa applications, and were due to arrive in Ireland on 18 July.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration cited a lack of compliance to visa application criteria as reasons for denying the visas.
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Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Redmond said "something is stopping" the Palestinian children from coming to Ireland and that Palestinians are not being treated on a par with other nationalities and ethnic groups.
"This is pioneering and historical event of support for the Palestinians," said Mr Redmond.
"If they don't have us, who else do they really have? They are depending on us. All they need is hope, and we have given them that hope."
The club's founder said they will battle until the very end and that this needs to be sorted by Monday in order for the children and volunteers to travel.
Mr Redmond said the club has given the children hope when others have failed, as they feel let down by the UN, human rights bodies and western institutions.
He said there is an alternative plan of setting up a GAA summer camp in Jordan if this plan falls through, but it will not be the same.
"It's a setback, but we will keep going and not give up hope."
"They know Ireland is with them, and if Ireland lets them down at this stage, we become part of that shameful list of the last 77 years of failure entities," he said, adding that there is a sense that this can still be done.
He said the children have been training for a year and there is "so much at stake".
Mr Redmond said the organisation wants to start sending documents immediately to remedy the issue and have consent from the parents of the Palestinian children.
He said they went as far as "sending a volunteer to the West Bank to assist with additional documentation".
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'Strict rules around migration'
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the fundamental issue around the issuing of the visas concerns the care of the children.
"The fundamental issue, from what I can gather, is the well-being of the children and the care of the children and ensuring proper guardianship," he said.
He said the Irish visa system is fair and objective and the Minister for Justice is aware of the case.
He said they do not regularly intervene in the operation of the system and said that "700 visas have been issued to Palestinians since the beginning of the war", including medical evacuation of some children.
Mr Martin suggested that an appeal should be made in the case.
"Hopefully these issues can be resolved, but there is an appeals process there, I think that should be utilised," he added.
Earlier, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the integrity of the Government's migration system must be upheld.
"Child protection matters very importantly, vetting matters very importantly. We do have very strict rules around migration and who can come into our country, and it has to be a rules-based system," he told the Dáil.
"There certainly isn't an effort by the State to seek to block or be difficult here. There are rules and processes, there's an appeals process available.
"I know this is an effort by people to do good, I don't doubt that, but we also have to uphold the integrity of our migration system."
Mr Harris was responding to a question from Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty who said the denial of visas as a "hammer blow".
'Decision not made lightly'
Asked about the decision not to grant visas to the travelling party from GAA Palestine, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said he is sure the decision was made "in a judicious and humane way" and was not "made lightly".
"Our Emigration Services take their responsibilities very, very seriously and I know they would be very much aware of the wellbeing, health needs of the children who have been affected by this decision and will have done their best to make this decision in a judicious and humane way," he said.
He said the agency had "responsibilities they have to adhere to in relation to the wellbeing of the children themselves, the responsibility of guardians, the need for the appropriate documentation to be in place and I am sure this is a decision that was not taken lightly".
"Given the background of where the children are coming from and the awful circumstances they are enduring and they are exposed to, I am sure this is something our services will continue to consider and I am sure what ever decision has been made, has not been made lightly," Mr Donohoe added.
'Phenomenal' support from across country
GAA Palestine international spokesperson Claire Liddy said the organisation is working on an appeal, after "phenomenal" support and offers of support and assistance from every corner of the island.
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Ms Liddy said they had no idea why they were denied, adding that they had been contacting the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv daily over the status of the visas, and that multiple documents had been received multiple times.
She said that the embassy requested additional documentation, and they have received the documents multiple times and have had the documentation for weeks.
However, she said the embassy is now saying the documents need to be issued from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was never communicated to GAA Palestine.
"People are devastated. It's not looking good but we are fighting this," she said.
"If the Palestinians have taught us anything, this was the beginning of a dream and we'll not let it stop us.
"It's a setback, but we will keep going and not give up hope," she said, adding that people are heartbroken after the scale of work and effort that has gone in to the trip.
The embassy never requested the vetting of the host families, she said, adding that this was done through the GAA and clubs.
She said that most of the details mentioned in the refusal were to do with things they have either received already, were never asked for, or was never communicated.
"We felt that we were being stonewalled, it was being delayed. We had the phones hung up on us several times by the office in Tel Aviv and we felt that there was something going on," she said.
This was not an "isolated incident", she said, as GAA Palestine is in contact with other groups with proven track records of bringing Palestinian children to Ireland for years who have experienced the same issues.
"We complied with everything they asked us for in the first stage, and then they came back and asked for additional documents, and then we had radio silence again and we asked them repeatedly if they had everything they need and they said they did."
'Absolute disgrace'
Eadoin Boyle-Tobin, a member of Good Counsel-Liffey Gaels Club in Drimnagh in Dublin, said she had "jumped" at the opportunity to "give something back".
"You go on the marches, you sign the petitions, but to be able to do something like this was unbelievable, real and concrete," she told RTÉ's News At One.
She said a range of activities had been organised, including trips to Áras an Uachtaráin ,Croke Park and Dublin Zoo.
Marianne Farrelly, a member of the Mothers and Others group at Liffey Gaels, said she and her children had been busy preparing for their visitors.
"Myself and my nine-year-old have been assembling the beds. We've painted the room," she said, adding that her children wanted to help.
"I always tell them when you see negative in the world, to look for the good. There's been so much good coming out of this club, they are chuffed to be able to help in some way."
Johnny McGlynn, the promotion manager at Liffey Gaels said it is an "absolute disgrace" to prevent children from coming to take part in Gaelic Games.
GAA Palestine 'deeply disappointed and shocked'
GAA Palestine said in statement that it is "deeply disappointed and shocked" by the refusal of the visas.
It said the visa applications, submitted in mid-May with "comprehensive documentation" included plans to visit GAA clubs across Ireland, educational exchanges and cultural activities.
It said all applicants, 33 children aged between nine and 16 years had "fulfilled all requested documentation".
"We understand from letters sent by the Irish Embassy in Israel that the reason cited [for refusing the visas] was a lack of detailed itineraries and financial arrangements - information that had been provided with the application," it added.
In its statement last night, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration said that each application is decided on its own merits.
Confirming that appropriate child protection requirements are in place is essential when considering visa applications for minors, the statement said.
"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.
"In adult cases, evidence of financial means, employment or other ties that indicate a person intends to return home are important criteria.
"These help to establish that a person has a legitimate reason to come to Ireland, and that they will comply with the conditions of a short-term visa.
"An application will be refused if it cannot demonstrate compliance with such conditions.
"An appeals process is available to anyone who has a visa application refused."
