An Irish citizen heading stateside has claimed he was denied access to the country 'because you were born in Iraq'.
Abood Al Jumaili was set to head to Atlanta on Wednesday to coach American youth in GAA as well as playing hurling and speaking at a number of talks.
But the GAA ambassador has said he was turned away from entering the country while at Dublin Airport because he was born in Iraq.
Read More: Brilliant video of former Iraqi refugee hurling at Stormont goes viral
The GAA ambassador shared his ordeal on social media on Wednesday.
He said: "I’m here with my #Irish passport in @DublinAirport, my flight is due now! The US @CBP said you can’t enter “because you were born in Iraq”. Absolutely sickening and literally insulting.
"A series of events were organised by the #Irish in #Atlanta and the #GAA Network personnel. Something I have been looking forward to all this month. That I am going to eventually visit #America, play my beloved sport (hurling) and do talks & coach #American youth GAA…
"Share my journey with them and meet with several Irish and American organisations. But today I have received an email to say that I have been rejected entry to the US because I was born in Iraq, even though I am an Irish citizen.
"I was shocked and still am. A mission that I have preparing myself for and looking forward to denied because of where I was born?!"
It is however stated in the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 that under the act, travellers who are Nationals of the Visa Waiver Program and are also Nationals of Iraq must obtain a visa prior to travelling to the country as they are no longer eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.
Abood has become well known in the GAA circles and went viral as he hurled against the walls of Stormont in a video viewed close to 500,000 times.
Born in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Al Jumaili came to Ireland back in 2008 when he was nine years old and immediately fell in love with hurling.
His social media videos include a clip of him hurling in the grandstand at Leopardstown racecourse outside Dublin.
The US Embassy in Dublin have been contacted by the Irish Mirror and say that they do not comment on individual cases.
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