Texans no lone stars as they get cead mile failte after a false start
Collins Photo Agency
Texan backpackers Ben Whitehurst, Gavin Sides and Colin Zwirko enjoy a pint at D4 hotel, Ballsbridge.
It was a case of second time lucky for three youngTexan backpackers who sailed through immigration checks at Dublin Airport yesterday to begin their dream holiday in Ireland.
And proving what a difference a bank statement makes, Colin Zwirko (21), Gavin Sides (19) and BenWhitehurst (19) were soon in a bar enjoying their first Dublin pint of plain.
The trio were refused entry by immigration officials when they first arrived in Ireland on July 3 as they could not show they had sufficient money to cover their trip and didn’t have an address for where they would be staying. Ireland was the starting point for a year-long round-the-world trip.
However, thanks to a publicity campaign in American and Irish media, and with the help of D4 Hotels, which paid for their return flights and a host of extras, the men arrived back in Dublin yesterday morning.
“Everyone’s been really nice, it’s great,” said Ben.
“Free Guinness is always a plus. It does taste much better here than back in the States.”
Gavin admitted the three friends, from Plano inTexas, were “winging it”.
“We left Texas because it’s somewhere we’d been for a while and we need to see something new and hopefully we can get inspired by that,” he said.
