Joe Biden caused a stir when he said his great grandfather left Ireland “because of what the Brits had been doing” in his first live press conference since becoming US President.
Biden, 78, was addressing the difficulties migrants face when leaving their home country in the landmark media briefing.
The US President also made a major vaccine announcement, confirming that America will be aiming to administer a staggering 200 million jabs in his first 100 days in office - doubling the previous goal.
However the remark that drew the most attention in Ireland came when Biden spoke of his ancestors who left here in the 19th century before heading to America.
He told reporters: “When my great grandfather got on a coffin ship in the Irish sea, the expectation was he going to live long enough to get to the United States of America.
“They left because of what the Brits had been doing.
“They were in real, real trouble. They didn’t want to leave but they had no choice.
“I can’t guarantee we’re going to solve everything, but I can guarantee we can make everything better.”
And Irish historian Ruth Dudley Edwards was among those to criticise the President's remarks on Twitter, saying: "I wonder if he's learned anything new about Irish history in the last 60 years."
However, Biden was also widely praised for the comments, with Northern Irish MLA and SDLP member Sinéad Bradley among the most prominent politicians to hail his remarks.
The clip from the press conference also quickly went viral on social media, gaining more than 150,000 views in the space of just 24 hours.
Meanwhile Mr Biden went on to address the crisis on the US border, as he claimed he would not let a child "starve to death and stay on the other side" of the border.
He said: “I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to do it. That’s why I’ve asked the Vice President of United States yesterday to be the lead person on dealing with focusing on the fundamental reasons why people leave Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador in the first place.
“It’s because of earthquakes, floods. It’s because of lack of food. It’s because of gang violence.
“It’s because of a whole range of things, that when I was Vice President, had the same obligation to deal with unaccompanied children.”
