21 August 2026
Letter from Staff of Maynooth University to Minister James Lawless on the Issue of Visas for Students from Palestine

Dear Minister Lawless,

We are writing to you as local constituents and as workers in the sector for which you have ministerial responsibility. Maynooth University, like many other institutions of higher education across the state, has had the honour of hosting students from Palestine who have fled the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the sustained campaign of violence and intimidation in the West Bank. These students have enriched the life of our university immeasurably.

It is with great consternation and frustration that we have heard from incoming students themselves and read in the press about the difficulties they are encountering in securing a visa to take up scholarships in Ireland. It is extremely disappointing to hear of this disjuncture between the state’s rhetoric of support for Palestinians and an immigration policy that seems to disregard both the undeniable threat posed by the extreme violence of the Israeli state to Palestinians and the significant contribution Palestinian students have made to our university communities. We object in the strongest terms to the impossible visa requirements being enforced by the Department of Justice on applicants who experienced scholasticide at home in Palestine where the ongoing conditions of life in conflict mean they have no access to regular educational and financial documentation.

We call on you as our TD and the Minister for Higher Education to intervene with your ministerial colleagues in the Department of Justice, both Minister O’Callaghan and Minister Brophy, on behalf of these students to ensure that they are given the visas they need. It would be a grave moral and historical error to deny these students the opportunity to travel to Ireland to study in safety. It also carries a high risk of reputational damage to our university sector, which is internationally recognised for its commitment to justice and human rights.

We trust that you, as our local TD and the Minister in our sector, share our concerns and look forward to hearing about the concrete steps you will take to ensure these students are not abandoned to their fate in the context of an ongoing genocide.

Signed:

97
signatures
89 verified
  1. Dónal Hassett, Professor of History, Maynooth University
  2. Raul Carstocea, Professor of History, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  3. Linda Connolly, Professor, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  4. Elizabeth Boyle, Lecturer in Early Irish, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  5. Conall Ó Fátharta, PhD, Maynooth University
  6. Karl O'Hanlon, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  7. Catherine Gander, Associate Professor of Literature, Maynooth University
  8. Fionntán de Brún, Ollamh, Ollscoil Mhá Nuad, Maigh Nuad
  9. John O Brennan, Professor, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  10. Rory Finegan, Lecturer, Centre for Military History & Strategic Studies, Maynooth
  11. Dr Ide Corley, Assistant Professor, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  12. Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses, Professor of History, Maynooth University
  13. Hilary Lennon, Tutor, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  14. Colin Coulter, Professor of Sociology, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  15. Donal Coffey, Assistant Professor, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  16. Mary Gilmartin, Professor, Maynooth University, Kildare
  17. Susan Giblin, PhD, Maynooth University
  18. Dr. Anindita Bhattacharya, Postdoctoral Researcher, Maynooth University, Dublin
  19. Niall Ó Cuileagáin, Postdoctoral Researcher, Maynooth University
  20. Denis Condon, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  21. Rita Sakr, Associate Professor, Maynooth University
  22. Patrick Bresnihan, Associate Professor, Maynooth University, Dublin 7
  23. Stephanie Rains, Lecturer, Maynooth University
  24. Elizabeth Meade, Lecturer in Education, Maynooth University
  25. Thomas Campbell, Lecturer in International Development, Maynooth University
  26. Madeline Arkins, Equality Project Officer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  27. Criostóir King, PhD candidate, Maynooth University
  28. Lorena Caminhas, Assistant Professor, Maynooth University
  29. Stephen O’Neill, Associate Professor English, Maynooth University, Dublin
  30. Sinead Ring, Associate Professor, Maynooth University
  31. Mercedes Carbayo-Abengozar, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  32. Rafaela G Scheiffer, Student, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  33. Niamh Keady-Tabbal, Postdoctoral Researcher, Maynooth University, Doorus
  34. Dilara Demir Bloom, Assistant Professor in Dept of Adult and Community Education, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  35. Dr Mark Walsh, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  36. Colin Graham, Professor, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  37. Angela Rickard, Assistand Professor of Education, Maynooth University
  38. Oona Frawley, Associate Professor, Maynooth University
  39. John Reynolds, School of Law & Criminology, Maynooth University
  40. Francesca Bratton, Lecturer in Creative Writing, Maynooth University
  41. Fintan K Sheerin, Professor of Nursing, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  42. Peter Coles, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  43. Jon-Ivar Skullerud, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Maynooth Univsrsity
  44. Dejan Djokić, Professor of Modern European History, Maynooth University
  45. Derek Barter, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Dublin
  46. Graham Kells, Assistant Professor of Physics, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  47. Diego Montagner, MU, Maynooth
  48. Gurutze Barluenga, International Partnerships Officer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  49. Raissa Andrade, Postdoc Researcher, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  50. anonymous, Maynooth University
  51. Noah Otten, Reaserch Assistant, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  52. Ray O'Neill, Professor in Physics, Maynooth University
  53. Giulia Ferrari, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  54. Jesse Le Roux, PhD Student, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  55. Andrew Clarke, Tutor, Maynooth University
  56. Dimitrios Roupas, PhD student, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  57. Bernie Grummell, Professor, Maynooth University
  58. Carol Wrenn, Research Manager, Maynooth University
  59. Dr. Yağmur Hortoğlu Grant, Lecturer in Law, School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  60. Maryanne Ryan, Technical Officer, Maynooth University, Co. Dublin
  61. Paul Watts, Assistant Professor, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth
  62. Rachel Horohan D’Arcy, PhD Student, Maynooth University
  63. Gavan Titley, Professor, Maynooth University
  64. Hilary Hooks, Maynooth University, Dunshaughlin
  65. Pawel Janas, PhD Researcher, Dublin
  66. Tracey Ní Mhaonaigh, Léachtóir sinsearach, Ollscoil Mhá Nuad, Maigh Nu
  67. Julie Rodgers, Associate Professor of French, Maynooth University
  68. Rob Kitchin, Professor of Geography, Maynooth University
  69. Patrick Flanagan, PhD Researcher, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  70. Daniel de Zubía Fernández, PhD, Maynooth University, Irede de Luna
  71. Javier Álvarez, PhD student, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza
  72. Aoife Titley, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  73. Brian Ngwenya, Postdoctoral Student, Maynooth University, Dublin
  74. Nikolaos Manaras, PhD Researcher, Maynooth University, Dublin
  75. Sabrina Marwede, PhD Student, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  76. Estelle Murphy, Assistant Prof. Musicology, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  77. Saoirse Ward, PhD student, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  78. Lewis Defrates, Postdoctoral Researcher, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  79. Gabriele Naselli, Postdoctoral Researcher, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  80. Pauline Cullen, Professor, Maynooth University
  81. Mary Leenane, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  82. Sarah Dunne, Researcher, Maynooth, Dublin
  83. Clare Geraghty, Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  84. Loic Bourdeau, Lecturer, Maynooth University
  85. Rhiannon Bandiera, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Maynooth University
  86. Stephen Carroll, Postgraduate Research Development Officer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  87. Louise Sarsfield-Collins, Assistant Lecturer, Maynooth University, Maynooth
  88. Fergus Ryan, Ollamh/Professor, Maynooth University, Maigh Nuad
  89. Eoin Flaherty, Lecturer in Sociology, Maynooth University
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