Twitter erupts with memes after Joe Biden confused All Blacks with ‘the Black and Tans’

By William On Apr 13, 2023

‘That memorable day when Rob Kearney single-handedly defeated the Black and Tans’: Twitter erupts with memes after Joe Biden confused All Blacks with British paramilitary forces while praising his Irish rugby-playing cousin

By Jamie Phillips

published: 10:14 BST, 13 Apr 2023 | Updated: 12:15 BST, 13 Apr 2023

Twitter exploded with memes after Joe Biden appeared to confuse the New Zealand rugby team All Blacks with the British paramilitary force ‘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 Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016.

He spoke about his heritage and views on Irishness in a packed Windsor Bar and Restaurant in Dundalk, County Louth before describing how the shamrock tie he wore was given to him by Kearney.

But Biden said: ‘This was given to me by one of these guys here, he was a great rugby player. He’s beat the hell out of the Black and Tans.”

Social media users have quickly created a wave of hilarious memes highlighting the president’s mistake.

US President Joe Biden pictured during his speech yesterday at the packed pub in Dundalk, Ireland

Who were the Black and Tans?

The Black and Tans were a 10,000 strong group of British recruits for the Royal Irish Constabulary.

Recruitment began in January 1920: many of those who applied were unemployed World War I veterans or convicts.

They were sent to Ireland to try and quash demands for independence from Britain. The War of Independence was fought from 1919-21.

Their nickname came from their uniform – they wore part of the Royal Irish Constabulary’s dark green dress, which looked black, and part of the British Army’s khaki.

They were known for their brutality and retaliation against civilians: to this day they are seen as a brutal and shameful force.

Voted Europe’s best player in 2012, Kearney played a pivotal role in Ireland’s defeat to the All Blacks – New Zealand’s national team – in Chicago in November 2016.

It was the first time Ireland had ever defeated the New Zealand side.

But Biden’s clouding of history also had a dark side.

The Black and Tans were a notorious group of agents employed to aid the British cause during the Irish War of Independence – the battle between the Irish Republican Army and British forces from 1919-1921.

The ceasefire of July 1921 divided the island, with Northern Ireland remaining under British control and the South gaining independence.

The Black and Tans – officially part of the Royal Irish Constabulary – were a group of 10,000 men recruited from Britain to try and defeat the IRA. Their name came from their uniforms: a mix of the dark green of the RIC, which looked black, and the light brown color of the British Army.

Their fighting was so fierce that it was rumored that they had been recruited from British prisons.

They were known for their brutality and carrying out reprisals against civilians they believed supported the IRA.

Public opinion in the UK and Ireland widely disapproved of their actions.

The unit was disbanded in 1922, but to this day the Black and Tans are shorthand for excessive force, and their role in the war remains disputed.

The troops were immortalized in the popular Irish rebel song ‘Come Out, Ye Black And Tans’.

What is the Come Out Ye Black and Tans song? Pro-IRA tune was written in the 1920s in support of the Republican cause during the Irish War of Independence

Come Out Ye Black and Tans is an Irish rebel song about the Black and Tans – officially known as the Royal Irish Constabulary Special Reserve.

The Black and Tans were a British paramilitary police auxiliary force, formed in 1919 and made up of temporary constables, during the Irish War of Independence.

They were nicknamed for their mix of khaki British Army and rifle green RIC uniforms.

Most of the recruits were former British World War I veterans, but were specifically seen as segregated from the army, as the British government did not want to lend credence to the cause of a ‘war of independence’.

Notorious for their ruthlessness, the Black and Tans often clashed with both civilians and armed republican forces, including the IRA. The force were disbanded in 1922.

Dominic Behan wrote the song for his father Stephen. And while it specifically mentions the Black and Tans, the context of the song is a dispute between republican and loyalist groups in Dublin.

The song links Irish nationalism to other peoples’ struggles against the British Empire around the world, mentioning wars in the Middle East and the Zulus.

Today the term ‘Black and Tans’ is seen as a more general derogatory term for the British and British military in Ireland.

The song is still sung by Irish rebel bands and folk singers and can sometimes be heard at Ireland and Celtic FC football matches.

The chorus of the song reads:

Come out, Black and Tans,

Come out and fight me like a man,

Show your wife how you won medals in Flanders,

Tell her how the IRA made you run like crazy,

From the green and beautiful streets in Killeshandra

Twitter erupts with memes after Joe Biden confused All Blacks with ‘the Black and Tans’

‘That memorable day when Rob Kearney single-handedly defeated the Black and Tans’: Twitter erupts with memes after Joe Biden confused All Blacks with British paramilitary forces while praising his Irish rugby-playing cousin

Who were the Black and Tans?

What is the Come Out Ye Black and Tans song? Pro-IRA tune was written in the 1920s in support of the Republican cause during the Irish War of Independence

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