RTE presenter Emer O'Neill revealed how her family has been threatened after she spoke out against a racist joke made by Tommy Tiernan.
The Wicklow woman walked out of the comedian's Vicar Street gig after he began telling a joke about Dublin Zoo and taxi drivers. Tommy has since issued a private and public apology to Emer and has removed the joke from his set.
However, Emer has since been inundated with messages and posts full of vile racist abuse on social media. The abuse started with personal attacks against her career as a presenter which then went on to target entire communities.
Read more: FreeNow cancels sponsorship with Tommy Tiernan after 'racist' joke
Emer said: "I started my career in terms of trying to bring awareness to the lack of representation, diversity and equality and that's where I will always focus. "So this is nothing new... and people saying things like 'Will she ever stop?'I won't ever stop until I see change in our country."
Speaking to The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk, Emer said that all the hate was coming from "a nation of migrants". She added: "We bring it back to 'No Dogs, No Blacks, No Irish' - Irish were included in that lesser society of people as black people were historically.
"We as Irish people were treated that way, and then you roll on centuries later when we still have Irish people living all over the world. Yet we still have the audacity to say things like 'Out, out migrants'."
Emer said: "I've been threatened, my family's been threatened, my husband's received emails and messages. It's incredible the extent the people are going to."
She added that it has been a difficult three weeks for her family but " it also hasn't been an easy 37 years of life".
"It seems it's the same people that have tried to break me down over the course of my life that have actually helped to build me up to this person and to try and continue to stay strong and continue to fight."
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