OVER THE WEEKEND, many well-known figures congratulated Irishman Conor McGregor on defeating Chad Mendes at UFC 189.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ricky Gervais and Mike Tyson were among the heavyweights to tweet about the Dubliner’s victory.

Also among those to congratulate the fighter? Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal.

The former basketball player, who simply goes by “Shaq” on Twitter, was watching the fight and had this to say.

Wait, did he just say…

Ah yes, that famous Irish phrase “shiver me timbers”. (????)

Wait, hang on…

Does Shaquille O’Neal think Irish people are pirates?

Naturally, people rushed to inform Shaquille O’Neal that Conor McGregor isn’t a pirate.

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And, of course, The Lad Bible picked up on it.

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So, what’s the deal? Does Shaquille O’Neal honestly think Irish people are pirates, or is he just a little confused?

Well, it seems he’s rather fond of the expression “shiver me timbers” as this isn’t the first time he has used it.

In fact, he’s been happily using it for the past five years.

It seems like he says it every chance he gets.

In 2011, he had this message for his “Irish cousins”.

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And here we are, five years later.

Can someone please just tell him?

For all our sakes.

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