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Ireland says welcome back, boys!

By
APRIL DREW,
Irish Voice Reporter

Published Friday, July 17, 2009, 12:28 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:44 PM

 

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Ben Whitehurst, Gavin Sides and Colin Zwirko enjoy a pint at the Dubliner Bar
Ben Whitehurst, Gavin Sides and Colin Zwirko enjoy a pint at the Dubliner Bar

The three young Texas men who were refused entry into Ireland by the Garda (police) National Immigration Bureau over a week ago were photographed happily sipping pints of Guinness at the Dubliner Bar hours after clearing immigration in Dublin Airport on Tuesday, July 14.

Colin Zwirko, 21, Ben Whitehurst, 21, and Gavin Sides, 19, landed in Dublin early Tuesday morning for the second time in 12 days. This time they were greeted by hordes of people and reporters.

The trio, dubbed the Plano 3 by the Irish media, was denied entry into Ireland on Thursday, July 3 because they did not have an address of where they were staying.

After the door to Ireland was slammed in their face, the trio, who were planning a six month European back-packing trip beginning in Ireland, had to each pay nearly $1,900 for a flight back to the U.S. on Delta Airlines. 

Insulted, upset and angered at the way they were treated in Ireland, Zwirko, who saved $10,000 for his once in a lifetime trip, and his Texas friends decided to do something about their situation and went to the media, including an extensive interview in last week’s Irish Voice.

Zwirko’s story finally reached Ireland, and after word got out that he and his friends were turned away for not having an address on their immigration slip (they were planning to stay on the couch of a person they met through the internet but they didn’t have his address, only a phone number) floods of offers came their way.

A Dublin-based hotel group, d4hotels.ie, offered to pay for the young men’s return flights, provide them with hotel rooms, food and drinks and give them $1,400 to spend in Dublin.

Live on Irish radio last Thursday, Zwirko and his friends, all from the Dallas/Forth Worth area, accepted the invitation.

“It’s been so amazing,” Zwirko told the Irish Voice.

“We were live on air and we accepted their offer,” said Zwirko, who was staying with a friend in New Jersey until they got on their flight in New York on Monday evening.  

Later Thursday afternoon Zwirko got word that an ad campaign in their honor was being made for radio in Ireland.

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