Nigel Farage says he was duped into saying “Up the ‘Ra!” in a paid for birthday video message.
The Brexiteer and former United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader, used the republican slogan in a paid-for birthday greeting, although he reckons he was unaware of its meaning.
The brash former eurosceptic MEP turned broadcaster will record personalised messages for anyone willing to stump up €87 on video-sharing platform Cameo, according to The Irish Times.
He's not getting an invite to .@JimAllister Christmas party. pic.twitter.com/6C1MHG98fd
— WeeMan (@AntrimLens) October 10, 2021
Mr Farage breezily declares: “This message is for Brian Ó Céileachair, Brexiteer, and I hope you have a great birthday. This comes from your good friend Aidan.
“Now, it’s a bit early in the day, so all I’ve got, actually, is coffee. But I hope you enjoy a few pints with the lads tonight. Up the ’Ra!” he says before taking a drink of coffee.
Mr Ó Céileachair then jubilantly declares via twitter “Quite possibly the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten courtesy of Aidan Hart and my mate Nigel Farage.”
Farage was hands off after he told MailOnline: “If I saw ‘Up the ’Ra!’ I would have looked at that as something very innocent, and wouldn’t have even known there was an implication to it.
“A lot of messages that I get are friends sending each other messages with their own little jokes or their own little words, which I have to judge – and of course I reject some if they are crude or offensive.”
Asked if he would read out a message if he knew it supported the IRA, Farage replied, “Are you joking? I had a face-to-face death threat from them!”
