Lansdowne Rugby Club has apologised to Tánaiste Mary Harney for comments made about her by a former club coach during a speech at a fundraising event over the weekend.
During the €150 a plate fundraising lunch at Lansdowne clubhouse before the Ireland versus France game on Saturday, the guest speaker, former Lansdowne coach Michael Cosgrave, made remarks at the beginning of his talk which referred to the Tánaiste.
The remarks were considered by some to be offensive, although no complaint was made to the club following the event, which was attended by 250 people. Most of those attending were the guests of companies and businessmen who were using the event for corporate entertainment purposes.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Lansdowne club apologised to Ms Harney. "We are very sorry for any offence that any comments or jokes made by a speaker would have caused to Ms Harney, or anyone else for that matter."Mr Cosgrave could not be contacted yesterday for comment.
Yesterday a number of politicians, including Junior Minister Conor Lenihan, criticised the remarks as being in bad taste, while Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell said they were "beneath contempt". The Tánaiste's office has declined to comment on the remarks.