Public expressed outrage at Conor McGregor's meeting with Donald Trump
Members of the public expressed their anger at Conor McGregor's St Patrick's Day meeting with US president Donald Trump in messages to Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
The vast majority of messages were critical of McGregor, with many accusing the UFC fighter of "hijacking our identity".
Advertisement
Mr Martin met the US president on March 12th, and the Government was blindsided by McGregor's St Patrick's Day trip to the White House, in which he made a number of unfounded claims about immigration into Ireland.
Claims McGregor made about crime levels in Dublin were also found to be from a discredited 'study' published by an online gambling company.
In messages to the Taoiseach, seen by BreakingNews.ie after a Freedom of Information request, people expressed anger at McGregor's White House appearance.
At 10.15pm on March 17th, one email to Mr Martin read: "You did a great job on your recent visit to the White House, congratulations on your diplomacy, but I'm furious with that clown (and I'm being generous) McGregor hijacking our identity."
Advertisement
The email continued: "He doesn't speak for us, please don't let this go!"
In messages to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, members of the public expressed anger over Conor McGregor's White House meeting with Donald Trump.
The majority of the emails referred to the legal action in which a jury found McGregor civilly liable in a case taken by a woman who accused him of rape.
Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín (35), was awarded damages and costs after a three-week trial last year in which the jury found him civilly liable for assault.
A judge at the High Court in Dublin later said the jury had 'conclusively determined' that McGregor had raped Ms Hand
in the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford on December 9th, 2018
. McGregor is appealing against the outcome.
Advertisement
A lengthy email addressed to Mr Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris read: "First, the invitation extended to Enoch Burke's family, and now, the carefully orchestrated elevation of Conor McGregor to take centre stage on St Patrick's Day. It is clear now that your meeting with president Trump was deliberately scheduled for the 12th, ensuring that McGregor would be given the international platform on the 17th in your absence.
"Allowing him to speak as if he represents us, he insulted not just those of us in Ireland, but the 75+ million people worldwide who hold their Irish heritage close to their hearts. This was not a misstep or unfortunate oversight, it was deliberate, calculated, and a disgrace. I urge you both, Taoiseach and Tánaiste, to draw the line now. To stand up, not just as a diplomat, but as an Irish leader with dignity. I fully understand the necessity of diplomacy, but at what cost?"
McGregor does not define Ireland.
The author called on the Government to address McGregor's appearance directly with Mr Trump.
"McGregor does not define Ireland. Musk does not define Ireland. Trump does not define Ireland. But if we allow these insults to go unchecked, we risk losing control over who gets to represent us. I sincerely hope that you will not let this moment pass without a clear, public statement condemning what has happened. We may be a small country, but we are a proud and dignified one, and that should count for something."
Advertisement
Another email criticised Mr Martin for not stepping in when Mr Trump praised McGregor during their White House meeting on March 12th.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: 'I do happen to like your fighter.'
'He's got the best tattoos I've ever seen,' he said, referring to Mr McGregor.
'Conor's great, right. But you have a lot of great Irish fighters actually, great fighters," Mr Trump continued, before moving on to ask the Taoiseach about his father's boxing career.
Advertisement
Two messages expressed support for McGregor's views on immigration.
"Regarding the recent coverage of Conor McGregor's visit to the White House, the three of you have been quick to criticise him, insisting that he does not speak for Ireland. You are wrong. While his visit and remarks were self-initiated, a significant portion of the Irish public agrees with his message far more than agree with any of you, even combined."
One person wrote: "Before you dismiss me as just another critic, understand this: I have financially contributed to each of your parties multiple times, up to the maximum €600 per donation, and considerably more to Leo Varadkar before I saw through him. I have stood in social settings with each of you, exchanged words, and am someone you are all comfortable speaking to in your own circles.
"The fact that the President of the United States chose to engage with McGregor rather than with career politicians like yourselves should be a wake-up call. Instead of sounding weak, jealous, and desperate in your attempts to discredit him, perhaps you should reflect on why he commands the support of both the Irish people and the US President, while your own standing continues to erode."
World
President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin 'has go...
Read More
One person praised Mr Martin and Mr Harris for their response to McGregor's meeting with Mr Trump.
"I am particularly proud of the way both you and Simon Harris have responded to what happened yesterday with Conor McGregor- you are right, he does not speak for me. Thank you for being so clear and unequivocal about it."
Another person wrote: "I firmly believe that by inviting McGregor to the White House for St Patrick's Day, Donald Trump and his team have deliberately undermined you, the Irish government and more so the Irish public.
"While I understand the importance of 'playing politics' there has to come a point where we stop kowtowing to our supposed friends in America especially if they're welcoming our convicted criminals into the White House."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Migrants face restrictions on social housing
A new immigration clampdown will limit access to social housing to people with strong, long-term connections to Ireland, and emergency homeless accommodation will also be restricted. Under plans due to go to cabinet in the next fortnight, social housing applicants must be lawfully and habitually resident in Ireland, meaning they must have close ties with the state, have been living in Ireland for some time and intend to stay for the foreseeable future. The government first floated the suggestions in a proposed law early last year, but later dropped the plans. It is understood that, after extensive legal advice in recent months, the measures are back on the table. The rules could spark controversy because they are likely to lead to an increase in non-Irish nationals being excluded from housing and homeless lists. Ministers will be told that the law is needed to eliminate 'ambiguity' over existing rules for non-Irish nationals who want to apply for social housing at a time of intense public and political scrutiny over housing waiting lists. Alongside the new rules, ministers are also due to approve plans to introduce similar eligibility criteria for access to homeless accommodation. This will mean that local authorities will not be required to assess households for homeless supports unless they are legally and habitually resident in the state. Local authorities currently do not have a legal basis to refuse accommodation based on legal or habitual residence. • Ministerial row stalls use of empty offices to house asylum seekers The issue of immigration and its effect on the homeless figures was previously raised by Simon Harris, the tanaiste, in an interview with The Sunday Times. At the time, the Fine Gael leader said: 'People understand the fact that homelessness numbers are heavily impacted by the fact we are seeing many people seek protection in our country, seek asylum in our country and many people come from abroad hoping to have a new future in Ireland and immigration. It has many, many pluses, but it has had a challenge there.' The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission previously raised concerns about any move to change social housing eligibility, saying it could have a 'discriminatory and disproportionate impact on ethnic minority communities, and on the most vulnerable groups in our society'. It added that applying the new habitual residence condition to social housing assistance was likely to result in criticism of Ireland by human rights monitoring bodies. Under further changes due to be signed off, there will be an independent appeals mechanism for people who feel they have been unfairly excluded from social housing eligibility. Changes to the criteria for getting homeless accommodation will be made by way of an amendment to the Housing Act 1988, which sets out what assistance can be offered by local authorities in terms of homelessness. It comes after homeless figures again reached another record high. Figures released last week by the Department of Housing show that 15,747 people were living in emergency accommodation in May, an increase of 167 people on those recorded as homeless in April. The total includes 4,844 children. At present, asylum seekers are not entitled to housing support or emergency beds. However, if an asylum seeker is granted leave to remain and has nowhere to stay, and potentially leaves direct provision, they will show up on official homeless figures. The homeless figures for May show that 3,031 adults in emergency accommodation, or 28 per cent of the overall adults, were not citizens of the European Economic Area. Separately, it has emerged that the planned delivery of almost 3,000 social homes has been delayed over value-for-money concerns. The homes were due to be built in Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Sligo by a consortium under the public-private partnership model. The Department of Housing said this weekend the decision 'reflects a careful consideration of the costs and taxpayer funding'.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
How prepared is Ireland for the knock-on effects of a future war?
Ireland's decision to sign up to the European Union's €150 billion weapons fund was greeted with typical fanfare last Friday when it was announced by Simon Harris. The move, the tanaiste said, would allow Ireland and other countries to streamline the procurement of arms and defence systems. 'I am determined to provide for the development of a full spectrum of Defence Force capabilities that will bring Ireland in line with other similar-sized European countries,' Harris added. Europe is embarking on a mass rearmament because of the worsening security situation on its eastern borders and across the globe. The bloc announced the creation of a €150 billion fund called Security Action for Europe (Safe) in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the fact that America is no longer a reliable guarantor of European security as it turns its focus instead towards China, where the communist regime is building one of the largest militaries in the world. Defence spending across the EU is surging, with Nato members last week pledging to allocate 5 per cent of their GDP to defence amid rising fears of a potential war on the continent. This marks a sharp increase from last year, when only 23 of the alliance's 32 members were meeting the existing 2 per cent target. For its part, Ireland will spend €1.35 billion on defence this year, up €100 million on 2024, but amounting to only about 0.2 per cent of GDP. Is this enough given Ireland's vulnerability and stated position of neutrality? And is the country prepared for a coming war? The answer to both, in short, is no. Friday's announcement came amid ongoing government efforts to formulate strategies to address a worsening security landscape, compounded by decades of underinvestment in defence. The coalition has also struggled to educate an electorate that often conflates neutrality with protection, overlooking the state's inability to defend itself. Few Irish people think about serving their country by joining the military. The government and the military have promised but failed to revitalise the reserve Defence Forces. It is difficult to exaggerate the scale of the polycrisis facing the tanaiste, who is also the defence minister. Harris faces inertia in both the Department of Defence and the military, which is struggling on almost every front. And like militaries across Europe, the Defence Forces struggle to recruit and keep staff and even to put patrol vessels out to sea. Some of these patrol vessels are confined to port for months. • Alex Massie: It's time Ireland started to pay for its defence As of May 31, there were 7,468 Irish military personnel compared with 9,480 in 2010. Numbers within the Defence Forces have fallen nearly every year between 2010 and 2024. The Air Corps has no combat jets but does have maritime patrol aircraft. The Naval Service has a fleet of vessels but does not have the staff to put all but a few to sea. Crucially, the government and the general staff of the Defence Forces are not battle-hardened. They have no real experience of dealing with a conventional or hybrid attack. There is no single scenario for the outbreak of war in Europe but it could begin with a Russian attack on the continent's eastern borders, though it is more likely to be hybrid in nature with the Kremlin using terrorist groups, cyberattacks and sabotage to try to upturn European society or provide an excuse to take action. However, it could also involve an attack on a weak state such as Ireland, whose isolated location on the EU's western border in the north Atlantic makes it vulnerable. Neutral countries have no protection in war. • 'Ireland must recruit tech workers to counter Russia cyber threat' 'The Atlantic was and will always be challenged by Russia's north Atlantic fleet. If the UK currently feels threatened by Russia, why should we think Ireland is not?' said Riho Terras, an Estonian member of the European parliament and a former military officer. 'If Russia keeps on rearming at its current pace, pretty soon Europe and Nato will not have the ability to handle it. The Kremlin looks for weak spots. It's hard to understand why Ireland thinks it won't be impacted. Europe really does need to stop figure-skating when Putin is playing ice hockey,' Terras added. If a conventional attack were to occur under a dubious pretext, Ireland would be forced to seek assistance from other EU states and Nato as it does not have any capability to defend itself. Before Friday's announcement, the government was already trying to rearm the Defence Forces but struggling to make progress. It has announced the acquisition of sonar and primary radar systems, but this is not new technology and will also take years to become operational. 'We are spending €60 million on new technology we should have bought decades ago. The new maritime patrol aircraft we bought for €250 million have no anti-submarine kits because the department didn't like the sound of anti- submarine warfare equipment,' one retired military officer said. 'The sonar system we have bought has to be towed on a ship but we cannot put naval vessels out to sea. 'It's akin to the gardai celebrating getting flashing blue lights and sirens attached to patrol cars when they have no drivers. Nothing makes any sense,' the source added. 'If war breaks out and Russian submarines are entering our waters to sabotage undersea cables or attack Britain, we are powerless to do anything. This is very similar to the years leading up to the Second World War. We are not at the back of the queue to acquire military equipment — we are not even in the queue.' Like many other announcements on defence, the decision potentially to use the EU Safe fund to acquire arms and military equipment may turn out to be unnecessary. Money is not the issue with increasing Ireland's preparedness; it is decision-making. Ireland's acquisition of new sonar and primary radar was made without EU funding. A decade ago, Ireland signed a similar memorandum of understanding to allow for joint procurement with Britain but did not use it. Terras warned that the Safe programme might not even work. 'No EU country has to use it. If large and important countries like Germany don't use it, Spain and the rest of them won't either. It's a loan facility for those who need it,' he said. The announcement by Harris came amid government moves to restructure oversight of defence. It has announced the formation of a ministerial group, a revamped national security committee and the rebranding of the National Security Analysis Centre (NSAC), set up six years ago to advise the taoiseach on national security. The new group is chaired by Micheál Martin, the taoiseach. Harris attends, as does Jim O'Callaghan, the minister for justice, along with the secretaries-general of the relevant departments, the garda commissioner and the chief of staff of the Defence Forces. It is scheduled to meet every quarter, while the national security committee can meet on a more frequent basis. But many familiar with these entities describe them as 'old wine in new bottles'. The NSAC is widely considered to have been an abject failure. Various iterations of the national security committee took no action to stop the expansion of the Russian embassy when it sought planning permission, essentially to build a spy base in Dublin. Others point out how no action was taken when Russia's intelligence services managed to recruit an agent, codenamed Cobalt, inside the Oireachtas, who still remains in place. Neither Martin, Harris nor O'Callaghan have any real understanding of Russia and its determination to undermine the EU for strategic purposes. Harris is also struggling to overhaul the Department of Defence, though he has been credited with making decisions and pushing ahead with investment projects, often in the face of bureaucratic inertia. 'Harris is making decisions and he's getting projects across the line but he's struggling with the department and the military. He's making the right decisions when something is put in front of him but he's one man trying to reform a dysfunctional system,' one insider said. There are other problems that illustrate Ireland's unreadiness for war in Europe, according to Eoin McNamara, a defence researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. 'There are now long queues to buy military equipment around Europe, such is the demand because Russia is rearming at exponential speed,' he said. 'Time is not on Ireland's side. Decisions are not being made fast enough. Most countries, if they can't find an ideal defence system, are going for the second-best option, but Ireland isn't doing this.' Unlike other EU states, Ireland has failed to nurture a defence industry, though it urgently needs one. The government and the military have yet to demonstrate any novel thinking in terms of how to use new technologies to defend its citizens. 'Ireland is a small country that needs to think more about technological solutions to defend itself,' said McNamara who noted how Ukraine had shown the world how a country could defend itself through its own resources. Ukrainian-manufactured drones have inflicted the majority of casualties on the battlefield. 'Defence is a driver of innovation. Within Ireland, we could do something similar here and build a fantastic industry around defence technology. We need to recognise what's happening as an opportunity,' said Fintan Buckley of Ubotica Technologies, an Irish defence company specialising in artificial intelligence platforms for satellites. Ubotica's Space:AI system can detect, classify and track vessels, even those operating off the grid, to provide maritime situational awareness from space to seafloor. 'The initial response by the government to what's happening has been about getting more boots on the ground and more boats out to sea, but long term it needs to think about how we embrace technology to provide security to protect our critical infrastructure,' Buckley said. 'We need to foster a closer relationship between our Defence Forces and industry to help foster new technologies. We do this in other industries but we need to do the same with defence.' However, many experts believe that Ireland's greatest security vulnerability — one that arguably leaves it more exposed than its European neighbours — is that Russia, after years of intelligence-gathering in the state, already knows all of the above.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Roads budget increased for National Development Plan
The development of important road projects will be accelerated in changes to government policy from that of the previous coalition. Final talks on the review of the national development plan will take place in the next fortnight, with an extra €20 billion expected to be allocated for infrastructure on top of the existing €165 billion. A source said stalled projects would be fast-tracked as the roads budget would be given 'certainty and stability'. Under the previous version, negotiated when the Green Party was in government, there was a two-to-one split in favour of public transport over road projects, and Eamon Ryan, the former Green leader and transport minister, said some projects would not go ahead. A senior government source said this weekend that 'we are not governed by ratios the way we were before' and the overall roads budget would benefit from 'more certainty and stability' than was previously the case.
