Taoiseach urged to intervene on study visas for Gazan students

'Mohammed' has sculpted Micheál Martin’s name in the sand in Gaza in gratitude for his words on Gaza so far

Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Picture: Larry Cummins

A Gazan scholarship student, one of dozens denied Irish study visas, has appealed to the Taoiseach for help, saying Micheál Martin’s words to the United Nations had given hope to the Palestinian people.

Last month, Mr Martin told the UN General Assembly that when the true horrors of Gaza “are finally and fully revealed, it will shame the world”.

In 2025, Ireland refused 22 of 164 long-stay study visa applications from Palestine, or 13%.

This year, it has refused 114 of 138 applications, a refusal rate of 83%.

Last week the Taoiseach told the Irish Examiner a “breakdown” between the university sector and the Department of Justice may have contributed to this increase in refusals.

On Friday, following judicial review applications, three Gazan students who had been refused study visas had those rejections overturned on appeal, while a fourth student’s refusal was upheld.

Despite appeals usually taking a year or more, those cases were completed within a week.

A further 30 applications for judicial reviews of refusals of visas to fully funded scholarship students are before the High Court this week, with Mr Justice Garret Simons declaring them “literally a matter of life and death”.

This year’s final evacuations from the besieged Gaza Strip are due to occur on October 25, but final submissions of names of evacuees must be made to Israeli authorities must be made this week.

This means students will need to know by Thursday whether they are coming to Ireland.

One of those students, Mohammed (not his real name), has appealed directly to the Taoiseach to intervene, sculpting Mr Martin’s name in the sand in Gaza in gratitude.

Heartbreaking: Rejected Students in Gaza draw Ireland’s Taoiseach’s (prime minister) name @MichealMartinTD on the beach alongside a Palestinian flag, his photo, and a letter appealing to him to intervene and accept the students who were recently denied visas to come to Ireland… pic.twitter.com/vqLkhIId97

— Abubaker Abed (@AbubakerAbedW) October 8, 2026

“His words at the United Nations touched our hearts, when he said that if the world knew the truth of what is happening in Gaza, it would shame the world. He understands what we are living through,” Mohammed said.

“Ireland led the evacuation of Gaza's students. Ireland’s Taoiseach speaks for Gaza in front of the world. That is why the refusals shocked us so deeply.

“When we read in the Irish Examiner that he had spoken about our case personally and called it a breakdown, we felt heard again. So we carved his name in the sand, to thank him, and to ask him to finish what he started.” 

Mohammed claimed that all Gazan students this year granted visas had been sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and had their applications processed by the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv.

“Our applications were sponsored by Irish universities and went to the Department of Justice in Dublin, and every one of them was refused. That is the breakdown,” he said.

“Our appeal to Mr Martin is this: you have already named the breakdown. Please fix it before it is too late.” The Taoiseach’s office was asked for comment.