Hello friends,
We’re writing with an urgent appeal to help spread the word about how the Irish State is denying visas for Palestinian students from Gaza. In collaboration with the For Gaza Project, we have put together a Fact Check on the current situation. Unfortunately, Irish media, including the Irish Times, has continued to spread narratives that abandon the majority of the students. Please check out our post and help boost if you are on Instagram. If you’re not, read on to get up to speed!
Later this week we will share an update for how to help pressure decision-makers to let all of the 99+ students study.
Here is the content from the Instagram post:
Caption: 99+. Ninety-nine is the known number of Palestinian students from Gaza whose visas to study in Ireland have been denied. 99+ students with full funding pathways, as explained in this carousel.
As Fortress Europe closes ranks, many believed Ireland would be different - including, heartbreakingly, 99+ students in Gaza, whose joy at receiving their Irish university acceptances has become a nightmare.⠀
99 is the number that we are currently aware of. There may even be more, yet reporting has downplayed the number of students from Gaza whose Irish visas have been denied.
When advocacy reduces the number of students impacted, it risks advancing far-right narratives that seek to reduce the total number of people entering the country. If this narrow advocacy is a well-intended attempt to appease the so-called Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan - whose department is responsible for the visa denials - it is unfortunately a misguided strategy that mirrors the Irish State’s approach to dealing with the current administration of the US, rooted in a long and deeply entrenched client-state relationship.
Everyone must demand that the State provide clear, consistent, and transparent guidelines, criteria, and procedures for the process, in addition to explanations for all visa decisions. This year, 99 students have received boilerplate rejection letters, but last year, when 114 visas were granted to Palestinian students from Gaza, Tánaiste Simon Harris stated that O’Callaghan’s Department of Justice “facilitated the lodging of visa applications from Gaza, including through the removal of administrative barriers that might otherwise have impeded this process,” and “has also facilitated the expedited processing of these applications.” Minister Noel Grealish similarly stated that the Embassy “actively engag[ed] with applicants to gather the required documents to ensure the Visa Division of the Department has everything it needs to progress these applications.”
We demand to know what has changed. We demand that ALL 99 students have their visas approved IMMEDIATELY.
Please share, repost, and use the hashtags. And stay tuned - much more to come.
#LetThemStudy #ALL99
Text from the post slides:
1. 24 AUGUST 2026, Fact Check, 99 STUDENTS FROM GAZA HAVE BEEN DENIED IRISH VISAS. THIS IS A FAR RIGHT CRACKDOWN
2. The number is not 31 of 59 'Scholarship Students.' These numbers have been reported in a great deal of media coverage, but without context, they are misleading.
3. A limited focus empowers far right policy. Much advocacy has focused on a group of 31 ‘scholarship students.’ This appears to comply in advance with the goal of selectively lowering the total number of people entering the country, and potentially choosing to seek asylum. Some who advocate this strategy argue that students who have specific funding arrangements are more likely to win their visa appeals right now. But this should not be assumed.
4. Basic Info: There are various equally valid funding sources available to students. Advocates have worked to fully fund as many students as possible, from all sources, balancing needs across the entire cohort. Each student’s situation is unique, and each is situated within a larger funding and advocacy context. But the larger system is not structurally equitable. Students were not all given the same information, or the same kinds of help, throughout the process.
5. THIS IS A LIFE & DEATH ISSUE. CLARITY AND PRECISION ARE CRUCIAL. There are 4 types of “scholarships” that students are able to apply for. Within this, there are certain types of “sponsorships” and even examples of “self-funding” arrangements that can be classified as “scholarships,” depending on the circumstances. Let’s look at the four basic types of scholarships, and a fifth sponsorship option that is very common among international students in Ireland.
6. Type 1: Government Scholarships. Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme (IPSP). These are full scholarships provided by the Government, including living expenses along with tuition. In 2026, it is unclear how many visas of the 30 IPSP recipients have been approved, regardless of the common understanding that this is an easier pathway to visa approval. The State has refused visas to its own scholarship recipients, and this is not clearly distinguished in most coverage.
7. Type 2: Fully-Funded University Scholarships. These are administered by the Universities themselves. They are generally funded through private philanthropy, through, for example, a University foundation. The Gaza Humanitarian Scholarship Initiative at UCD is an example. The term often used is “full wrap-around scholarships,” meaning that they include living expenses.
8. Types 1 and 2: The DOJ has said that students with “full wrap around scholarships” are “most likely to meet government requirements” to receive visas. However, in 2026, the majority of students with this type of funding have been denied visas. Full, verifiable, specific data on the number of students in this situation, and the source of their funding, is not currently available.
9. What We Do Know: 59 private scholarship recipients from Gaza were awarded their funding within the Universities of Sanctuary program, a designation that supports students who are fleeing conflict or persecution. 31 of these 59 have had their visa applications rejected. These students are among those receiving the vigorous advocacy that all students deserve.
10. Who Is Left Behind: The current focus on “scholarship students” in media reporting mainly highlights recipients of University-administered scholarships that are funded by private philanthropy, under the Universities of Sanctuary banner. Every one of the 99 students has a full scholarship, full sponsorship, or full funding provided by some form of private philanthropy. But Universities and media appear to have put their full weight behind the Sanctuary students who were denied.
11. Other Students Are Being Told They Are On Their Own. ...despite Irish higher education operating on a business model that is entirely financially reliant on ‘self funded’ international students. While other ‘self funded’ international students are welcomed, ‘sponsorship’ students from Gaza are treated very differently despite the same type of funding pathway.
12. Type 3: Tuition-Only Scholarships. These scholarships are considered "self-funded,” not “wrap-around.” Students must provide evidence of funding for their living expenses, for example, through donor sponsorships. Visas are also being denied for these students, yet they are largely unnamed in advocacy currently being mobilised for other scholarship recipients.
13. Type 4: Partial Scholarships. Partial academic scholarships are also considered "self-funded." Students must provide the remainder of their tuition along with detailed evidence of funding for their living expenses, far beyond what is typically asked of other international students. Visas are also being denied for these students, yet they are largely unnamed in advocacy currently being mobilised for other scholarship recipients.
14. Type 5: Fully Funded via External Sponsorship. Private philanthropy directly provides funds for tuition, as well as evidence of full funding for living expenses. This means that no State funds are involved. Sponsorship students are "self-funded' via private philanthropy. This funding enhances the overall effectiveness of the ecosystem of private scholarships. Visas are also being denied for these students, yet they are largely unnamed in the advocacy currently being mobilised for other recipients who are funded through private philanthrophy.
15. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Some advocates have argued that the students who seem to fall under the umbrella of Sanctuary have the best chance of winning visa appeals, and that it is necessary to focus on them. They appear to believe that if some appeals are won, it will be easier to win more appeals. But if some Palestinian students are “on their own," this is entirely unfounded. Inequity and lack of transparency are structural features of the entire system that Palestinian students must navigate.
16. LET'S BE CLEAR: There is no particular reason to believe that lobbying on behalf of a very small number of students while marginalising the others will result in winning any appeals. There is no indication that winning one appeal means that more wins will follow for students with other types of scholarship funding. Irish Universities don't appear to be planning to fight on for the majority of the students.
They are already encouraging deferments "until next year" and offering refunds.
17. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE IRISH DOJ WILL DO
18. BUT HERE ARE SOME FACTS: Irelands current Minister for Justice, Home Affairs, and Migration is Jim O'Callaghan TD. He is the decision-maker. He seems to admire ICE. He's proud of his own televised deportations earlier this year. He is aware that POTUS will arrive in Ireland on 12 September, and the State is preparing. There is no guarantee that he will approve any visa appeals right now, despite his Department having done so last year. We do not see a path where narrow advocacy wins anything for anyone. Rather, it advances anti-migration policies and helps slam the door on all migration pathways.
19. SO WHAT CAN WE DO? We can disrupt the far right DOJ framing by refusing to leave any students out of advocacy. We must advocate for every one of the 99 students to be given visas and evacuated, knowing that 114 visas were approved for Palestinian students in 2025. We can point out that University administrators must not have the power of life or death over students, but that is effectively what they have been put in position to do.
20. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Advocate for all 99 students to have their visas approved. Challenge the narratives that focus narrowly on a smaller number of students. Demand clear, consistent, and transparent guidelines, criteria, and procedures, in addition to explanations for all decisions. LET THEM ALL STUDY.
In solidarity,
Breaking The Firewall