Bloody Sunday is the name for the day in 1972 on which British soldiers shot unarmed protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles — resulting in 14 deaths.
The Irish band U2 famously wrote about the horrors of that day in a song called “Sunday Bloody Sunday”.
An image of the ad, for a two-for-one dessert offer, was posted on Twitter by an Irish user who spotted it in a McDonald’s in Portugal.
After a backlash, McDonald’s Portugal took down all promotional material featuring the slogan.
In a statement, McDonald’s Portugal said it had developed a “local market activation for a small number of its restaurants in Portugal” — attempting to celebrate Halloween, not “to upset or insult anyone in any way.”
It added: “We sincerely apologize for any offense or distress this may have caused.”
In 2013, a London bar apologized after an outcry over a cocktail named “Sundae Bloody Sundae,” which was served with a small toy soldier.
Neither are alone in making faux pas that have recalled painful episodes in British and Irish history. In 2012, Nike released a trainer called the “Black and Tan,” which caused outrage because it brought back memories of the Black and Tans, a paramilitary force known for its violence during the Irish War of Independence.
This article was originally published by Cnn.com. Read the original article here.