Controversial American broadcaster Bill O'Reilly addressed students at Trinity College Dublin last night, telling them that "confrontation gets to the truth" and that the Irish should consider themselves Republicans - in the American political sense, at least.
The Fox News presenter also amused some, though not all, of the students with his mocking impersonation of the French.
His television show, The O'Reilly Factor, is the most-watched cable news show in the US and Mr O'Reilly's most recent book, Culture Warrior, is a New York Timesbestseller. Often accused of bullying guests and pushing a conservative agenda, he has previously called for a boycott of French products, and told the son of a 9/11 victim to "shut up" after he spoke against the "war on terror".
Mr O'Reilly's arrival received a mixed greeting. While some students stood as they applauded, others jeered. This was followed by sporadic heckling during his speech, to the university's philosophical society.
Having told the students that he almost attended Trinity but "wasn't smart enough", he turned to world affairs. He complained that the European press was partly to blame for America's reputation abroad, and said that while there are many people who hold the opinion that the US is a bad influence, his is that "the United States is a noble nation".
"It has 300 million citizens. And if some people want to sneak in every time we turn our back, it must be good," he said. He added that "they're not kicking down the door to get into the Soviet Union. I mean Russia."
He argued that there is currently a battle between "traditionalists" and "secular progressives" in his home country, and that he stood on the side of the former.
"My people came from Cavan when they were starving to death. They came over to America and made it. And all that goes into my philosophy."
Taking written questions, Mr O'Reilly criticised the UN, saying that "all these people do is go out for lunch".
Of the International Criminal Court, he joked: "It takes four years to try Milosevic, and he drops dead of boredom."
Asked about the Republican Party's political philosophy, he said: "Everyone here in Ireland is a Republican . . . That's working pretty well for you."
Mr O'Reilly admitted that he was wrong in his support for the invasion of Iraq, but said that he did not believe that the US and British administrations deliberately deceived the public over intelligence on weapons of mass destruction.
However, he insisted that it was still important to trust the American administration. To laughter and applause from some students, he asked: "What's my alternative? France?"
