Outrage as Nine Children Among 63 People Deported to South Africa from Dublin Airport - 02/03/2026

63 people have been deported from Ireland to South Africa on a charter flight this weekend, the Department of Justice has confirmed.The operation, carried out on Saturday evening, saw 54 adults and nine children deported. The children were part of family units.It’s the second charter removal operation this year and the eighth since such flights resumed in 2025.Titilayo Oluwakemi Oyekanmi and her three sons, Samuel, Joseph and Genesis, came to Ireland in late 2023 from South Africa. Their asylum application was rejected and a subsequent appeal was unsuccessful. The family received a deportation order in April 2025. The boys had been attending schools in Dublin, and were members of a number of local sports clubs.Glencullen-Sandyford Green Party Councillor Oisín O’Connor hit out at the Department’s “lack of compassion” in relation to the deportation of the Oyekanmi family, and Councillor O'Connor joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.