THE AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL advisor who said that the Irish “can’t grow potatoes” has apologised for his controversial comments.

Grahame Morris, a Conservative commentator and former advisor to the Liberal party, had made the original comments on Sky News during a debate on marriage equality, saying:

The trigger was a vote in Ireland. Now I love the Irish, the parliament is full of Irishmen but these are people who can’t grow potatoes, they’ve got a mutant lawn weed as their national symbol and they can’t verbalise the difference between tree and the number three. But, and then all of a sudden, Australia has to follow suit.

But he’s now backtracked on his comments, saying: ”I got myself into a hell of a pickle on this.”

He described his words as “Morris humour” which “didn’t work at all”.

He added that for two and a half days in the Irish media, “kick Grahame was the main sport instead of Gaelic football and soccer”.

Morris apologised for what he said, offering:

To everyone there in Ireland, to all those with Irish backgrounds, which includes me incidentally, I’m actually very sorry. What I said was tasteless and I copped the whack I deserved.

Read: “These are people who can’t grow potatoes” – Ireland dragged into Australia’s gay marriage debate