![\"Displaced](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/4775096_2_articleinline_ISRAEL_20Gaza_20165958.jpg\" "\\"Displaced")
Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, on Tuesday. Picture: AP<\/p>\nEight Palestinian students have arrived safely in Limerick to begin their studies after being evacuated from Gaza.<\/p>\n
The students will be studying at Mary Immaculate College (MIC) after having secured scholarships \u2013either through the Irish government or directly from the college.<\/p>\n
Up until their evacuation, it remained uncertain whether they would be able to leave Gaza.<\/p>\n
Four students arrived through evacuations that happened in April and July. The remaining four students were among a group of 52 Palestinian students to arrive in Ireland just in time for the start of the academic year, as part of a coordinated national effort involving Irish higher education institutions, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Further and Higher Education.<\/p>\n
The complex operation involved permission from Israeli authorities to exit Gaza, entry clearance from Jordan, and onward travel through Istanbul before arriving in Dublin.<\/p>\n
After medical screening and support in Dublin, the students were met by MIC and brought to their new accommodation in Limerick.<\/p>\n
One recalled feeling safe the moment they arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I arrived here and started feeling I\u2019m safe, the tears streamed down my cheeks. I said to myself, \u2018maybe this is the beginning of healing, maybe now I can fully breathe.\u2019 I\u2019m so happy to be in Ireland after waiting so long, but still feel sad because of what is happening to my people and my own family. May God protect them,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings along the coastal road toward southern Gaza, on Tuesday. Picture: AP<\/p>\n
Another said: \u201cAmidst the darkness of war in Gaza, Ireland has opened a rare door for me. A one-in-a-million chance to continue my studies. It is not merely an educational opportunity, but a new life, a ray of hope piercing through despair. I will carry the voice and suffering of my people to the world and show that hope can bloom even beneath the rubble\u201d.<\/p>\n
Their arrival follows months of behind-the-scenes work by higher education institutions across Ireland.<\/p>\n
Together, the sector mobilised to guarantee support packages, ensuring that 52 university scholarship holders could be considered for the most recent evacuation.<\/p>\n
Dr Holly Cowman, Director of International Engagement at MIC, said: \u201cWe are just so relieved to have our students with us safely and delighted to welcome them into the College community. It has been a privilege to work with colleagues across the higher education sector, led by Trinity College Dublin, with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and all who made this possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are glad to have been able to offer these inspiring students\u2019 safety, dignity, and the chance to continue their education at MIC.”<\/p>\n
Professor Gary O\u2019Brien, Vice President of Governance and Strategy at MIC, said: \u201cThe students\u2019 resilience and courage are extraordinary. Our commitment now is to ensure that MIC provides not only a place of study, but also a place of belonging where these students can rebuild their lives and futures.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
MIC has pledged ongoing academic, financial, psychological, and social support to help the eight new arrivals to rebuild their lives in Ireland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eight Palestinian students have arrived safely in Limerick to begin their studies after being evacuated from Gaza. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1111,61,60,43,1112],"class_list":["post-11024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-court-and-crime","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-politics-and-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}