A video of Labour senator Aodhán Ó Riordáin reacting to the victory of US president-elect Donald Trump has gone viral after being posted on a number of US based websites and Facebook pages.
In the speech delivered in the Seanad on November 10th, the former equality minister and now senator Mr Ó Riordáin described Mr Trump as a fascist and said he was “embarrassed” by the Irish Government’s reaction to the election result.
“I can’t believe the reaction from An Taoiseach and from the Government and I don’t use the word fascist lightly but what else would you call somebody who threatens to imprison his political opponents?
"The best we come out with is a phone call to say is it still okay to bring the shamrock", he added, referring to a phone call Taoiseach Enda Kenny had with Mr Trump in the wake of his victory in which Mr Trump confirmed the annual St Patrick's Day ceremony in the White House would continue.
The video has been viewed by 2.9 million people on the senator’s own Facebook page and it has been widely promoted by a Facebook page Occupy Democrats. It has also been picked up by viral network Now This where the video has been seen nearly 6 million times on its Facebook page.