US software security firm accused of ‘paddywhackery’ for booze poster

A US software security company, which has its European headquarters in Ireland, has been accused of “paddywhackery” by sending out St Patrick’s Day-themed posters which stereotype the Irish as a nation of drinkers.

The phone security infographic incorrectly labels Ireland as the world’s biggest beer-drinking nation and calls on people to “sober up” so they can protect their smartphone from a St Patrick’s Day disaster — namely letting it drop in a pint of beer.

It uses leprechauns to represent Irish people and when comparing parade attendance around the world, it uses the Statue of Liberty as the symbol of New York, Sydney Opera House for Australia and the CN Tower for Toronto — but a pint of Guinness for Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland denounced Trend Micro’s Parade Frenzy infographic as “lazy marketing based upon a stereotype that we know doesn’t exist”.

“We know the reality and this is all just based on a stereotype. Look at the Fáilte Ireland promotional video that we sent out this week that has 750,000 hits on it already and there isn’t one pint or pub scene in it,” said the Fáilte Ireland spokesman.

“This is just paddywhackery and we know that Ireland is about much more than that.”

The Parade Frenzy poster was sent out by Trend Micro SMB’s Twitter account to thousands of followers.

Trend Micro did not return calls for comment yesterday.

The company employs more than 200 people at its European headquarters at IDA Business & Technology Park, Model Farm Road, Cork.