Inviting followers on Twitter to "show us what makes you proud to be British" as part of a diamond jubilee promotion must have seemed like a good idea at the time at Starbucks. 
 
 But after tweeting the invitation to nearly 2,000 Irish followers of its Twitter account on Tuesday, the coffee giant has been on the receiving end of a backlash over its seemingly shaky grasp of political geography. 
 
 "Right now someone in Starbucks Ireland is wishing there was a Twitter version of the memory wipe thing from Men In Black," was just one of the responses tweeted soon after. 
 
 One follower of the Starbucks Ireland account (@Starbucks.IE), Fergus McNally, commented: "the ie stands for Ireland, awaiting the apology before I visit your stores again!!" 
 
 An apology did come, hours after the gaffe, with the Starbucks Ireland account telling followers: "We erroneously posted to our Irish Twitter page meaning to post to the UK only. Customers in Ireland: We're sorry." 
 
 The company later followed up by issuing a statement saying: "First and foremost we apologise to our Irish customers for the mistake made on Twitter this afternoon. 
 
 "The tweet, which was only meant to be sent to our British Twitter followers as part of the diamond jubilee celebrations, was erroneously posted to our Irish Twitter page. 
 
 "We apologise to all our customers and followers on Twitter in Ireland and hope that they will forgive our mistake." 
 
 The error comes months after another global brand, Nike, found itself on the back foot after falling foul of sensitivities over Irish history. 
 
 The sportswear giant said no offence was intended after issuing a St Patrick's Day-themed shoe which raised memories of a British paramilitary unit which gained notoriety during the Irish war of independence. 
 
 Nike had released the shoe, which it dubbed the "Black and Tan", in a nod to Guinness. The beer-themed trainer had a black-leather upper with tan elements, creamy swoosh and featured an image of a pint. ||||| AN Irish father is taking a landmark case against Facebook after sexually suggestive photos of his 12-year-old daughter appeared on the website. 
 
 The distraught father has claimed his daughter has been put at risk from paedophiles as a result of the publication of the images. 
 
 Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, has 730 million users around the world. 
 
 If the case is successful, the global brand worth an estimated €20bn would be facing a huge payout. 
 
 Hilary Carmichael, the solicitor acting for the father, told the Herald that Facebook does not have any checks in place to ensure children are over the permitted age, 13, when they open an account. 
 
 Harm 
 
 "I was able to access this girl's Facebook page myself before we issued the writ. She has more than 485 friends ... some from the western provinces of Nigeria," she revealed. 
 
 The writ lodged in Belfast High Court alleges the company is "guilty of negligence" and has created "a risk of sexual and physical harm" to the child. 
 
 It claims the girl has received sexually explicit text messages from adult men and that men asked her to post images of herself online. 
 
 The girl, who is from Co Antrim, cannot be identified for legal reasons. 
 
 It is believed she posted the provocative material on the site herself. 
 
 She even revealed personal details like where she lived, the name of her school and areas where she hangs out. 
 
 The girl suffers from behaviour problems and is in a voluntary care institution. 
 
 Mother-of-three Ms Car-michael told the Herald she has come across similar Facebook pages of children who live in the Republic of Ireland and she warned parents to be vigilant. 
 
 "We've had parents who've been in contact with us whose children live in the Republic and operate Facebook pages in the Republic. 
 
 "If they have any concerns, they should shut it down straight away," the Derry solicitor said. 
 
 She added that it is easy to pin down the location of a child by following posts on the site. 
 
 "A lot of children are innocent and they don't know the dangers. 
 
 "That's why they shouldn't be allowed Facebook pages -- they're too young," said Ms Carmichael who has launched the childrenonfacebook.com site to warn parents about the risks. 
 
 The High Court writ was served on the US company today. 
 
 ADULTS 
 
 Among the 12-year-old girl's Facebook 'friends' are adults in Ireland, Britain and elsewhere. 
 
 The girl's father has said he is "worried sick" thinking about the danger she could be in, adding his concern is she would go off with someone she met on the social networking site. 
 
 "There was another photo of my daughter lifting up her top but that has been removed," the man said. 
 
 Facebook, whose international headquarters are located in Dublin said it is committed to removing inappropriate and indecent photos once a complaint has been made. 
 
 It is the latest court action to hit the company. 
 
 A recent case involved businessman and racehorse owner JP McManus who had sought an injunction to force Facebook to shut down accounts claiming to be him. 
 
 The action was struck out in May after lawyers for the company took down the profiles. 
 
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– Starbucks' Irish Twitter account has just 2,000 followers, but an awkward tweet it directed to them has managed to piss off an entire nation: "Show us what makes you proud to be British," the company tweeted during the Diamond Jubilee. The coffee giant says it intended the message to reach only its UK Twitter followers, the Guardian reports. One Irish customer warned @StarbucksIE: "The ie stands for Ireland, awaiting the apology before I visit your stores again!!" Following the mistake, Starbucks' Ireland account noted that "we erroneously posted to our Irish Twitter page meaning to post to the UK only. Customers in Ireland: We're sorry."