Joe Biden, currently on an official visit to Ireland, committed a major blunder while in a local Irish pub. The latter is said to have confused the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team… with a British paramilitary unit – the Blacks and Tans – infamous in Ireland for their acts of violence against the Irish in the 1920s. An unfortunate phrase, which marred an eagerly-awaited diplomatic visit.
It was a long-awaited trip. US President Joe Biden set foot on Irish soil on Wednesday April 12 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. A two-stage trip: first to Northern Ireland, then to the Republic of Ireland. A trip that was intended to consolidate diplomatic relations with the Emerald Isle, and thus facilitate Northern Irish negotiations, directly linked to Brexit.
During his visit to the Republic of Ireland, Joe Biden visited a small Irish pub in Dundalk, County Louth, where he drank a toast alongside Irish people, while talking rugby and his Irish origins.
It was then that he committed a gaffe in which he explained that his cousin Rob Kearney, a member of the Shamrock XV, had beaten the All Blacks in Chicago in 2016. He then adds casually:
He beat the Black and Tans to the punch!
“And he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans,” President Biden misspeaks in remarks in Dundalk pub, referring to his rugby-playing cousin Rob Kearney and the Irish rugby team beating the All Blacks in Chicago in 2016 – live @IrishTimes reporting pic.twitter.com/LtQbCkO0v1
— Simon Carswell (@SiCarswell) April 12, 2023
An outing which unfortunately created unease in the pub. Indeed, the American president confused the All Blacks, a New Zealand rugby team, with the Black and Tans, a British military group responsible for suppressing the Irish independence struggle in the 1920s.
This military brigade was so feared at the time that its violent actions inspired terror. Murders, rapes, village burnings… The Blacks and Tans were known for their violent actions, slaughtering men, women and children without trial, in savage executions.
That’s why Joe Biden’s confusion was so badly received: it evokes a painful past for the Irish, as well as a profound ignorance of Irish history on the part of the American president.
The release also divided Internet users. Some see it as ignorance of Irish history, while others attribute it to a simple linguistic error. Be that as it may, this blunder created an uproar on social networks, outraging Irish and British alike.
A mistake that was quickly swept under the carpet by the president, who simply changed the subject…
More news
