'I need to speak to you about coronavirus': Varadkar thought first lockdown would end after a few months

Leo Varadkar discusses the coronavirus crisis during a press conference in Washington (Niall Carson/PA)

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has admitted that he expected Ireland’s lockdown to last for no more than a few weeks or months, one year on from his infamous Washington speech.

It is exactly 12 months since the then-taoiseach addressed the Irish public from the steps of Blair House in the US capital and told them: “I need to speak to you about coronavirus.”