Video of Irish Dancers Seemingly Celebrating Queen's Death Goes Viral

A video of a group of Irish dancers outside Buckingham Palace has gone viral following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday—but despite celebrations from many Irish people at the monarch's passing, the video is months old.

Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, with her oldest son Charles immediately becoming King Charles III. Some people in countries formerly controlled by Britain, such as India, Ireland, Australia and Nigeria, were quick to point out the monarchy's role in the subjugation of their countries.

Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom but the Queen is a divisive symbol who many consider a figurehead for the brutality suffered by the Irish at the hands of the British for centuries.

So despite a massive outpouring of grief from people all over the world on Thursday, Irish Twitter stood out as many shared a wave of inappropriate social media posts.

One video which has gone viral on Twitter and TikTok shows a group of Irish dancers performing a traditional dance in front of Buckingham Palace to the Queen song, "Another One Bites the Dust."

While the timing of the video is certainly humorous, Newsweek can confirm that the dancers recorded and posted this video back in January 2022 and it is completely unrelated to the Queen's death.

The dancers in question are part of a group called Cairde and they post videos of themselves dancing all over the world.

On January 18 this year they posted the Buckingham Palace video with the caption: "dancing to 'Queen' for the Queen #cairde #queen."

However, despite the fact that the video is months old, it is widely circulating on Twitter in relation to the Queen's death.

Author Lauren Hough posted the clip with the caption: "Holy s*** Irish tiktok doesn't f*** around," and it has clocked up more than 6.9 million views on Twitter.

Twitter has flagged the video as being presented out of context.

Newsweek has reached out to Cairde for comment.

Cairde are a group of six friends from Ireland: Brian, Dara, Francis, Ronan, Seamus and Stephen who replace traditional Irish music with mainstream hits and put their own twist on their routines for their hugely popular videos.

According to their website, they even performed for President Joe Biden in the White House.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the queen's passing in an announcement at about 1:30 p.m. ET, 17 months after the death of her husband Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021. Leaders and famous admirers from around the world commemorated the beloved monarch who was praised for the stability she brought during the more than 70 years she spent on the throne.

There has been a huge backlash to people posting disrespectful tweets about the queen's passing as Twitter is flooded with angry posts about the damage that colonialism and imperialism have inflicted on the world.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

Her son and heir, King Charles III, also released a statement.

"The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family," he said. "We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world."