"Eoin Hayes, a deputy (TD) for Dublin Bay South, came under fire earlier this week after media published pictures of him dressed up as the then-US president, Barack Obama, at a party. At the time, Hayes was the president of the students' union at University College Cork. Hayes issued a statement on social media late on Monday after learning that the pictures were set to be published."
"On Tuesday, the leader of the Social Democrats, Holly Cairns, said she hoped to put the issue behind the party. There's no way to sugarcoat it, I'm hugely disappointed and annoyed about this situation, she told the broadcaster RTE, citing the many issues that she and others in the centre-left party would have preferred to focus on."
Eoin Hayes, a deputy for Dublin Bay South, was pictured in blackface at a 2009 Halloween party while president of the students' union at University College Cork. Hayes apologized on social media, saying he had worn makeup on his face and hands while dressing as Barack Obama, that he did not understand the hurt at the time, and that he is profoundly sorry. He stressed the costume was not meant to mock Obama and noted he later worked on Obama's 2012 reelection campaign. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns expressed disappointment but will not expel him, citing the apology and the incident's occurrence 16 years ago, while reaffirming that blackface is a form of racism.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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