Opinion
20 Aug 26

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin on Palestinian students visa refusals: "we are going to see a day when Zionism is defeated"

Gaza Student Visa Refusal Protest Credit: Malone Graham

Almost 200 people attended a protest against the Government denying visas to a group of Palestinian students.

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin stated at a protest outside the Department of Justice yesterday that "we are going to see a day when Zionism is defeated."

The musician and activist spoke to a crowd of around 200 people who attended a protest against the Government denying visas to a group of Palestinian students hoping to take up scholarships at third-level institutions this academic year.

"You can be a member of the Israeli occupation forces and commit a genocide," he began.

"You can bomb a hospital, you can shoot a child, you can destroy Gaza, and then come here and see the Cliffs of Moher, or have a pint in a Dublin pub.

"But if you're a Palestinian in Gaza, who has endured a genocide, who has endured scholasticide, and has somehow still managed to get a scholarship in an Irish university...Jim O'Callaghan and the Department of Justice will tell you, 'you have gaps in your education'."

He went on to argue that all educational facilities have been destroyed in Gaza.

All 19 recognised higher education institutions in Gaza have faced near-total destruction, with every university campus severely damaged or destroyed. According to assessments by UNESCO, 22 out of 38 assessed campuses are destroyed, and 195 out of 206 specific university buildings have been ruined.

"We're going to have to bring that day about, when Palestine is liberated and all the students who are coming here now, who will come here to study, can go back and rebuild Palestine," said Ó Ceannabháin, closing off.

At least 31 of 59 Palestinian students who applied for study visas after securing fully or partially funded scholarships by Irish third-level institutions this year were refused permission to enter the country, based on figures released by the University of Sanctuary initiative last week.

The initiative works to develop practices for welcoming asylum seekers or refugees into third-level institutions, including Trinity College, University of Limerick, the National College of Art and Design, and University College Dublin.

In a statement, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration said each visa application is decided on its own merit, regardless of nationality.

It said Palestinian nationals must have a valid Irish visa before they seek to enter the State and that 41 student visas have been granted to Palestinian nationals so far this year.