‘We are so disappointed’

In a week where Tipperary basked in the glory of a tremendous All-Ireland victory over the old rivals, Cork, the joy of seeing Liam MacCarthy return to the Premier County was tempered for a section of GAA families, who had volunteered to host members of the GAA Palestine’s Hurlers Summer Tour 2025.

As part of their nationwide tour, 33 juvenile hurlers from the West Bank in Palestine were due to visit Thurles and Cashel on the Tuesday and Wednesday following the All-Ireland final. However, their dreams of visiting Ireland, playing the Gaelic Games they had come to love and gaining some respite from the horrific occupation which they suffer under, were dashed when the Dept of Justice refused their visas to Ireland just nine days before they were due to arrive. Despite Trojan efforts on the part of GAA Palestine’s volunteers, and a prominent ‘Let them Play’ grassroots campaign, no resolution was forthcoming from the department.

“It is such a pity that the children were not allowed to come. There would have been such a buzz around Thurles after winning the All-Ireland. At Tipp’s homecoming in Semple Stadium on Monday night, you couldn’t help but think that 24-hours later, the children were meant to be right here too,” said Geraldine Kinane, from one of the host families of the tour. Families from Nenagh, Burgess, Borrisoleigh and Drom-Inch had all opened their homes to the group for their overnight stay in Tipperary.

“All the preparations were in place. Garda vetting was completed. Countless volunteer hours had gone into arranging accommodation, venues, tours and refreshments. Teams and referees had been fixed for the mini-games. It’s a real shame,” explained Patricia Moloughney from Doichead 24.

The touring group had been due to arrive from Carlow to Thurles on Tuesday July 22 and were scheduled to play with 10 local U13 and U11 club teams in a series of mini-games at Dr Morris Park. One of those clubs, Waterford’s Roanmore, had twinned with the Moataz Sarsour GAA from Ramallah in Palestine. Hayes Hotel was to be the site of the momentous official twinning ceremony between the two clubs following lunch there that day.

“We are gutted that we couldn’t hold the twinning ceremony with the Moataz Sarsour club. It would have been a unique occasion with Waterford dignitaries to be in attendance also,” said Roanmore GAA’s Michael Murphy.

PLANNED EVENTS

The visit was also due to include a visit to Semple Stadium, a guided tour of the Lár na Páirce museum, Brú Ború and the Rock of Cashel, offering huge opportunities for cultural exchange between Ireland and Palestine. Indeed, a gathering had been planned in the famed Sarsfields Centre, where local Palestinian families would cook their native dishes for all in attendance.

The positive build-up to the visit had been preceded by a hugely successful fundraising table quiz and auction at a packed Revel @ The Ragg on July 4. From this, custom Tipperary GAA Palestine jerseys were designed and purchased for the children.

“We are so disappointed that the children were blocked from coming. They were denied activities that we take for granted. For example, they had never swam in the sea,” said Simon Cromer of the Nenagh Friends of Palestine.

As a consolation, the players have been taken to a summer camp in neighbouring Jordan.

This refusal from the Dept of Justice follows hot on the heels of the Lajee Soccer Team & Dancers being denied visas to come to Ireland. The people of Cloughjordan had made massive preparations to welcome them to Tipperary but these were dashed in a similar fashion to GAA Palestine.

In 2016, the Al Hilal soccer team from Gaza spent a week in Nenagh.

“We would like to thank the Tipperary County Board and clubs, The Ragg, Semple Stadium, Lár na Pairce, our tremendous sponsors and all the people of Tipperary who gave this project such generous support. Their huge enthusiasm for the visit would have made a successful occasion certain,” said Rhona Carroll of the organising committee.