Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last night addressed the nation in a historic speech as Ireland continues to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
He revealed that elderly and ill people will be asked to stay home for several weeks as part of a "cocooning" measure against COVID-19.
He also warned that this is only the “calm before the storm” in the coronavirus emergency.
He was speaking live across broadcast channels as the country faced the first ever St Patrick’s Day in an emergency lockdown.
In his solemn speech the Taoiseach warned that the surge is yet to come, with the leader’s latest prediction that the crisis will continue well into the summer, and more than the 15,000 infections already predicted will emerge.
Mr Varadkar gave his historic address on Tuesday night as the numbers contracting coronavirus soared again, with 69 new cases identified, and the total for the island of Ireland now hitting 292 in the Republic of Ireland and 354 on the island overall.
And the landmark moment provoked a huge reaction on social media.
There was a largely positive response to the speech, with many commentators hailing it as Varadkar's "defining moment".
One viewer wrote: "I don't think any of us realised how much we needed that address from Leo Varadkar until he started talking."
While another added: "That’s the best speech Leo Varadkar has ever given. Content, tone, explaining carefully the rationale, displaying great human empathy."
However there was some criticism, as politician Ruth Coppinger claimed there was "not one thing to lift stress off 140k laid off workers" in the speech, while Sinn Fein TD Paul Donnelly branded it "a waste of a serious national broadcast".
Here is the best of the social media reaction:
