The fast food company make a misstep by referencing the 1972 atrocity in which 14 people died

There's 'tone-deaf', and then there's just plain offensive.

Irish people have been reacting with a mixture of both bemusement and horror at a picture that has been shared on Twitter.

Twitter user @bigmonsterlove first posted the image, which was taken in a McDonald's in Portugal.

It advertises a new Halloween-themed sundae dessert, the 'McDonald's Sundae Bloody Sundae' - a reference to the Bloody Sunday massacre which took place in Derry in 1972, in which 14 unarmed civilians were killed by British soldiers. In addition, there were two further Bloody Sundays in Irish history - in 1920 and 1913.

Some have speculated that they are referencing the U2 song 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' - but considering the song was about the Bloody Sunday massacre, it's not hard to put two and two together.

Others have also been comparing McDonald's tone-deafness to Nike, who infamously released the 'Black and Tan' trainers for St. Patrick's Day back in 2012.

Ben & Jerry's also released a 'Black and Tan' ice-cream at one point.

See the reaction below:

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So far, McDonald's have not commented on the matter.

UPDATE, 2PM Oct 31st: McDonald's Portugal have issued an apology and say that the 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' campaign has been pulled.

In a statement to The Guardian, they said: "When promoting its Halloween Sundae ice cream, McDonaldโ€™s Portugal developed a local market activation for a small number of its restaurants inย Portugal.