Biden makes major gaffe during speech in Ireland

In yet another cringeworthy gaffe, President Biden on Wednesday accidentally made reference to British forces that persecuted Irish people instead of a New Zealand rugby team while delivering a speech in Ireland.

Speaking about Irish former international rugby player Rob Kearney — who is the president’s fifth cousin — Biden called him “a hell of a rugby player and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.”

Biden appeared to have intended to say New Zealand “All Blacks” rugby squad, according to a White House transcription of his remarks at the Windsor bar in Dundalk, County Louth.

Instead, the president referenced the “Black and Tans” — the nickname for members of the notoriously brutal Royal Irish Constabulary, who were enlisted by the British to fight against Irish Republicans and committed atrocities against civilians during the Irish War of Independence over 100 years ago.

The name “Black and Tans” reflected the color of their uniforms.

The gaffe ended a rocky first day for the president’s trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that put an end to decades of sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants known as “The Troubles.”

Tensions still remain high and Irish Republican dissidents opposed to the peace process have been blamed for occasional outbreaks of violence since the 1998 signing between Britain and Ireland.

While speaking in Dundalk — about halfway between Dublin and Belfast — Biden spoke about his father, telling the crowd he’d “hate to tell” them that he was English, but his “saving grace was a quarter of his family was Hanafees from Galway.”

Biden beamed throughout his gray, rainy trip to the Emerald Isle, where he traces much of his family heritage.

While the president was led up to a ruined Carlingford Castle, a reporter shouted at Biden what he thought about the weather.

From his vantage point, he was supposed to be looking out at Warrenpoint Port in Newry where his maternal great-great-grandfather, Owen Finnegan, left for New York City in 1849, but the view was obscured by clouds, according to The Times.

Biden, in a blue baseball cap, smiled when he responded “It’s fine! It’s Ireland!”

Ahead of his visit to Belfast, a top-secret document containing the itinerary for his visit to Belfast and information about his protective detail was found in the street, prompting a security scare.

Over the weekend, police in Northern Ireland reportedly foiled a terrorist bomb plot intended to disrupt Biden’s Belfast visit.