The New York Times is standing by its coverage of the death of five Irish students in Berkeley, California on Tuesday, which has come under fire for reinforcing unwanted Irish stereotypes.

The five students, who were in their early 20s, were reportedly gathered at an apartment for another student's 21st birthday party when the balcony they were standing on collapsed.

Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller, and Eimear Walsh, all 21-year-old Irish citizens, and Ashley Donohoe, 22, who held dual Irish-American citizenship, died in the incident. Seven others were seriously injured.

Two women embrace at the scene of the balcony collapse in Berkeley. Image: Noah Berger/Associated Press

Many in Ireland have taken issue with a New York Times article that, while reporting on the disaster, framed Irish college students as stereotypical partiers, part of thousands who are "flocking to the West Coast to work in summer jobs by day and to enjoy the often raucous life in a college town at night."

One paragraph in particular has attracted the bulk of the anger, with critics claiming it focuses on victim-blaming rather than reporting on the balcony collapse itself.

The work-visa program that allowed for the exchanges has in recent years become not just a source of aspiration, but also a source of embarrassment for Ireland, marked by a series of high-profile episodes involving drunken partying and the wrecking of apartments in places like San Francisco and Santa Barbara.

Irish Labor Party politician Aodhán Ó Ríordáin told Mashable he found the New York Times coverage "stunning in its insensitivity."

"To go into a kind of stereotypical rant about Irish young people in America and the nature of their experiences and their behavior, to be honest is insulting," said Ó Ríordáin. "The best thing they can do at this time is to apologize and to take down the article."

"It's poor journalism and it goes into the whole area of victim blaming that I thought from most reputable news agencies wouldn’t be their first reaction," added Ó Ríordáin. "What killed these young people was not their activities, what killed these young people was a balcony that collapsed that couldn't support them."

On Twitter, he called the paper's coverage a "disgrace."

.@nytimes Your newspaper's reporting of the #Berkeley tragedy is a disgrace. — Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD (@AodhanORiordain) June 17, 2015

Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness also weighed in, saying the paper's coverage "lacks sensitivity."

Disappointing @nytimes reportage of #Berkeley tragedy lacks sensitivity for Irish victims & their families.#poor — Martin McGuinness (@M_McGuinness_SF) June 17, 2015

The Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Anne Anderson penned an open letter to the editor calling the article "insensitive and inaccurate."

It is quite simply wrong to say that the J1 visa programme is “a source of embarrassment for Ireland”. On the contrary, we are fully supportive of this programme and we know that it brings enormous mutual benefit. Some of our best and brightest young people participate; they come for a summer in the US on the threshold of their adult lives, and take back experiences and memories that establish life-long bonds. And they make a real contribution here; one of the messages of condolence we received yesterday put it simply: “We welcome their energy and joy”.

As anger over the article grew on Wednesday, New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan tweeted that she was aware of the reaction and would "look into it."

Sincere sympathy to all affected by #Berkeley tragedy. Please know that I am aware of reaction and will look into it today. — Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) June 17, 2015

In a statement, a spokesperson for the New York Times told Mashable the story was meant to add context to the story though they "understand and agree that some of the language in the piece could be interpreted as insensitive."

The spokesperson apologized "if the piece left that impression."

This piece was a second day story following yesterday's news​ story​ of the collapse​. ​It was intended to explain in greater detail why these young Irish students were in the U.S. We understand and agree that some of the language in the piece could be interpreted as insensitive, particularly in such close proximity to this tragedy. It was never our intention to blame the victims and we apologize if the piece left that impression. We will continue to cover this story and report on the young people who lost their lives

The story, which has six bylines, contains no apology or retraction on the Times's website.

Ireland's reaction to the students' deaths has been incredibly emotional and has touched the small nation.

Philip Grant, the Irish Consul General for the western United States, said the students were a part of a popular visa program that many Irish college students use to work in the U.S. during their summer break. "Ireland is a small country. Very few of us have been left untouched," said Grant.

Neil Sands of the Irish Network Bay Area places a flag of Ireland over wreaths at the Library Gardens apartment complex in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, June 16, 2015. Image: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Many Irish see the summer work holiday program as a rite of passage of sorts for young students. In 2014, more than 8,000 Irish students came to the U.S. on the J-1 visa, which is given to students hoping to work on holiday.

Kirsten Lowe travelled to New York and California on a J-1 visa and said the piece was "extremely insensitive and irrelevant."

"Irish people do have a bad reputation for drinking a lot and destroying things. However I don't think it's fair to say that it's just Irish students and to give us all that stereotype," said Lowe. "I doubt we are much different to American students on spring break."

More than 150,000 Irish students have used the program to visit in the past 50 years. The majority recount experiences that involve both work and travel, as well as many a night out with friends.

Aisling Flynn traveled to Boston in the summer of 2011 on a three month J-1 visa, and told Mashable that while she was certainly there to enjoy the city with friends, she also gained valuable work experience. She now works as a software developer for a Dublin start up.

"For me and the group I travelled with, we wanted to have a good time but we were also there to work. We partied, travelled and worked our summer," Flynn told Mashable. "It wasn't just a party holiday, it was a life experience."

“An awful lot of Irish people would have had experiences of traveling on a J-1," added Ó Ríordáin, the Irish politician, who had participated in the program himself. "It's almost a coming of age experience for Irish people."