Tony Blair once suggested nationalists in Northern Ireland could support England in the 2002 World Cup after the Republic were knocked out.
The former Prime Minister was said to be gutted after the gaffe, which is detailed in newly unsealed documents from the National Archives of Ireland in Dublin.
On June 17, just a day after the Republic lost on penalties to Spain, Mr Blair attended a meeting with SDLP leader Mark Durkan and the Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid to discuss policing.
Other SDLP representatives later relayed to Irish officials that the PM appeared disengaged and tired.
The briefing document states he was undoubtedly somewhat preoccupied with the Black Rod affair, which involved a row with the press over claims No10 tried to push for a more prominent role for the PM in the Queen Mother’s funeral.
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He did not seem to have an appetite for discussing Northern Ireland, the briefing note says, and would refer answers to Mr Reid, who was “convivial and charming in a slightly desperate kind of way”.
On entering the room, Mr Blair is said to have commiserated on Ireland’s defeat and “offered, apparently genuinely, that the SDLP were now supporting England”.
The revelation, that was made in a footnote, adds: “Blair was a bit crestfallen to hear Durkan express himself in a very non-committal manner on the matter of England’s likely fortunes.”
The newly released documents also contained details of another moment in which the then PM was left embarrassed.
Earlier the same year, Mr Blair admitted to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern that he was stunned by a row after Sinn Fein was offered offices in Westminster for their abstentionist MPs.
Its politicians do not take their seats in Westminster as part of a long-held rejection of its legitimacy in Northern Ireland.
But a December vote removed the long-held ban on the party being offered offices.
The move was met with a backlash from Conservatives and Unionists, who said it carried security issues. Nine Labour backbenchers also voted against the government’s motion.
Mr Blair told Mr Ahern he was stunned by the negative reaction, with the Irish record of the meeting showing the Labour PM remarking he had been naive.
The minutes of the summit continue: “Sinn Fein in return must acknowledge that they had some sense of responsibility. There is a feeling that after their electoral successes, they need to play by ‘our rules’.”