Backpacker 3 receive twice the welcome after false start

IT was a case of second time lucky for three young US backpackers who were denied entry to Ireland a fortnight ago, as the three friends breezed through customs in Dublin to begin their holiday of a lifetime.

Colin Zwirko, 21, Gavin Sides, 19, and Ben Whitehurst, 21, arrived in Ireland earlier this month at the start of their dream trip to spend a year backpacking in Europe.

However, they were informed by an immigration official in Dublin Airport they could not enter Ireland because they lacked an address of where they planned to stay in Dublin as well as bank statements to prove that they could afford to travel.