Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has quoted the fantasy epic 'Lord of the Rings' in his latest speech to the people of Ireland.

While speaking of the restrictions around the country beginning to ease over the coming weeks, Leo Varadkar quoted 'Lord of the Rings', using a quote that many will know from the send entry in the fantasy series. He said: "So, this afternoon let me end with words of hope, 'In the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer.'

"Thanks to your hard work, your choices, and your perseverance, that new day is approaching."

The quote is lifted directly from 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' when Samwise Gamgee is speaking with Frodo Baggins. His Hobbit friend is attempted to give up hope at a very pivotal moment in the plot, but Sam urges him to keep going.

The quote from Samwise is: "How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

Here's the moment in question from the movie.

This isn't the first time our Taoiseach has used a quote from a popular movie reference, either. If you'll remember a couple of months ago, Varadkar also used a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger's sci-fi thriller 'The Terminator'.

Here's how Twitter has been reacting to the Samwise Gamgee quote.