Overview

• Joe Biden made an embarrassing gaffe referencing a brutal British paramilitary group instead of New Zealand's national rugby team during a speech honoring his cousin.
• Biden kicked off his trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement by mistakenly mentioning the Black and Tans in a tribute to a relative who played rugby.
• The Black and Tans were British World War I veterans deployed to Ireland to put down Irish independence fighters, earning a reputation for violence and reprisal killings.
• The speech snafu and security concerns over leaked schedules tainted Biden's first day in Ireland, where he traveled to strengthen US-Irish relations and celebrate his Irish heritage.