A MEATH County Councillor has thanked people around the country for their 'priceless support' after she was spat at and racially abused by a man in Navan.
Fine Gael's Yemi Adenuga said she was also told to go 'back to where you came from' during the incident on Friday evening.
Ms Adenuga, who detailed the incident during a video on social media on Friday night, said she had since reported the incident and was overwhelmed by the 'outpouring of love, kindness, and encouragement'.
"I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU, truly, to every single person from all over the country who reached out, checked in, spoke up and stood with me since Friday night," she posted on social media today.
In her video, Ms Adenuga said she was returning to her car in Navan after meeting local residents when the man walked past and appeared to recognise her.
She said the man claimed to have heard a radio interview with her in which he believed she was 'trying to teach us Irish people how to live our lives in our country'.
Ms Adenuga continued: "He said, 'Well, you're not welcome here, you're not my councillor and I don't recognise you and if you're not happy with how things are here… you can go back to where you came from, you're not welcome here'.
"That wasn't the hardest part. He spat on me. This person spat on me. I'm still trying to gather myself because so many things went through my head."
She added: "This happened in my town of Navan. It's happened in a place where I have served as a re-elected public rep for seven years now and I have given and continue to give my service and my commitment to the people of this town."
'Proud to still call Ireland home'
Ms Adenuga, the first-ever black woman elected to public office in Ireland, thanked two people who came to her aid, having been too shaken at the time to get their names.
She has now taken to social media to thank the support she has received from around the country over the past two days.
"The calls and messages have been nothing short of incredible and I felt held," she wrote.
"What was meant to break me has instead left me standing because of your priceless support and I [and] my family are proud to still call Ireland home.
"This experience has only strengthened my resolve to keep working hard towards building a better country where everyone can live here with dignity, safety and a sense of belonging."
She added: "For everyone with the knowledge, experience, influence, or simply the willingness to listen, this is the time to use it.
"Together, start from the top, we can build an Ireland that truly reflects the kindness so many have shown me.
"Céad míle fáilte to all who call Ireland home. Home is where the heart is."
Ms Adenuga first lived in Dublin when she came to Ireland in 2000 before relocating to Co. Meath four years later.
After being active in the community for several years, she became Meath County Council's first migrant councillor when she was elected in 2019.
The former broadcaster, who holds post-graduate qualifications from University College Dublin and Liverpool John Moores University, previously appeared on the reality TV show Googlebox Ireland.
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