U2 star Bono caused quite a stir when he referred to a leading Irish female political figure as "Pussy Galore" after a James Bond character during his speech at the American Ireland Fund dinner in New York on Thursday night.

Liz O'Donnell "disappeared into her chair" when the comment was made, said one person who was close by when the incident happened.

O'Donnell is a former Minister at the Department of Foreign Affairs and was Deputy Leader of the Progressive Democrats party, which served in government until 2007.

She was Minister for Overseas Development as well, and had a long and varied political career before losing her seat in the 2007 election.

Often called the "blond bombshell" for her good looks, O'Donnell, 54, caused a media storm in September 2007 after revealing she regularly did radio interviews in her underwear while she was a serving politician.

Pussy Galore was a "Bond girl" and fictional character in "Goldfinger," the James Bond novel and movie created by Ian Fleming. Honor Blackman played her in the movie, with Sean Connery as 007.