Matt Barrett apologises for 'poor judgement' over ‘irreverent’ coronation posts

Matt Barrett 'never intended comments to go public, but that happens sometimes', says Taoiseach

The comments by Matt Barrett, which were shared in a private Instagram group of more than 350 followers, were revealed over the weekend.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken to his partner Matt Barrett over comments made in a private group on his Instagram account relating to the recent coronation of Britain's King Charles III.

The comments, which were shared in a private group of more than 350 followers, were revealed over the weekend.

Mr Barrett has since tweeted an apology for his comments saying it was "poor judgement on my part".

He apologised "unreservedly" for any offence caused.

Mr Varadkar and Mr Barrett were among those in attendance at the coronation servicefor King Charles at Westminster Abbey in London. They were also present at a reception in Buckingham Palace on Friday, May 5, and spoke to King Charles ahead of the coronation ceremony the following day.

When asked about the Instagram posts, Mr Varadkar said on Monday that the posts were never meant to go public. 

“Yeah, look, Matt's a private individual, my partner for over seven years now. And it was some private messages sent to some friends on his private account. You know, he never intended them to go public, but that happens sometimes,” Mr Varadkar told reporters in Limerick.

Mr Varadkar said he has spoken to Mr Barrett about the matter and was confident it would not happen again.

Asked by reporters if he believed the messages were inappropriate, and if Mr Barrett should apologise, Mr Varadkar replied: “Ah look, [Mr Barrett] is a private individual, and that's obviously up to him. But like I say, [it was] a private account, it was never intended to be shared publicly, and I don't think we're going to see a repeat of it.” 

When asked if he felt the messages were irreverent, Mr Varadkar replied: “Yeah, I think ‘irreverent’ would be fair comment.”