Irish citizens donate more than $1m towards native American coronavirus response in repayment of...

A bid to raise money for Native American tribes impacted by the coronavirus has seen more than $6m handed to those in need after an outpouring of support from Irish citizens looking to repay a 173-year-old debt.

Residents of the Navajo nation - a territory that straddles the US states of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico - have at points been among the worst afflicted by the pandemic worldwide, with 6 per cent of the region’s population infected so far.

Among the issues facing residents were a lack of access to clean running water for hygiene purposes - with one in three living without indoor plumbing.

However an outpouring of support has come from an unlikely source - Irish residents across the Atlantic looking to offer support as a repayment for Native American solidarity shown during the great potato famine of the 1840s.