Twitter exploded with memes after Joe Biden appeared to confuse New Zealand rugby team All Blacks with British paramilitary group The Black and Tans during a speech in an Irish pub.
The US president paid tribute to distant relative and Irish rugby star Rob Kearney before referring to a match between Ireland and New Zealand played at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2016.
He spoke about his heritage and his views on Irishness to a packed Windsor bar and restaurant in Dundalk, County Louth, before describing how the shamrock tie he wore was gifted to him by Kearney.
But Biden said: ‘It was given to me by one of these guys here, he was a great rugby player. He knocked out the Black and Tans.”
Social media users quickly created a flurry of hilarious memes highlighting the president’s mistake.
US President Joe Biden during his speech yesterday at a packed bar in Dundalk, Ireland
Kearney was named Europe’s best player in 2012 and played a crucial role in Ireland’s defeat to the All Blacks – New Zealand’s national team – in Chicago in November 2016.
It was the first time that Ireland had defeated the New Zealand team.
But Biden’s historical obscurity also had a dark side.
The Black and Tans were a notorious group of agents deployed to support the British cause during the Irish War of Independence – the struggle between the Irish Republican Army and British forces from 1919 to 1921.
The armistice of July 1921 divided the island, with Northern Ireland remaining under British control and the South becoming independent.
The Black and Tans – officially part of the Royal Irish Constabulary – were a group of 10,000 men recruited from Britain to try to defeat the IRA. Their name comes from their uniforms: a mixture of the RIC’s dark green, which looked black, and the British Army’s brown colour.
Their fight was so bitter that rumors arose that they were recruited from British prisons.
They were known for their brutality and carrying out reprisals against civilians they believed supported the IRA.
Public opinion in Britain and Ireland largely disapproved of their actions.
The unit was disbanded in 1922, but to this day the Black and Tans are shorthand for excessive violence and their role in the war remains controversial.
The troops were immortalized in the popular Irish rebel song “Come Out, Ye Black And Tans”.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
