Conor McGregor uses White House visit to hit out at Irish government over immigration

The former UFC champion, visiting on St Patrick’s Day, said ‘rural towns have been overrun’

Conor McGregor used a visit to the White House on Monday to air grievances over immigration in Ireland, pleading for help from the US.

The former two-weight UFC champion, who was visiting the White House on St Patrick’s Day, has been increasingly vocal about what he deems political issues in Ireland in recent years.

“I’m here to raise the issues the people of Ireland face,” said the 36-year-old on Monday (17 March). “It’ll be music to the people of Ireland’s ears, because never on the main stage have [these issues] been spoken.

“Our government has long since abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland, and it’s high time that America is made aware of what is going on in Ireland. What is going on in Ireland is a travesty. Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability.

“Our money is being spent on overseas issues that have nothing to do with the Irish people. The illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country. There are rural towns in Ireland that have been overrun in one swoop, that have become a minority in one swoop.

“So, issues need to be addressed, and the 40m Irish-Americans need to hear this, because if not, there will be no place to come home and visit.”

Last week, US President Donald Trump called McGregor “great”, naming the fighter as his favourite Irish person. In January, McGregor attended Trump’s inauguration.

McGregor, who has not fought since suffering a broken leg in a 2021 defeat, also said on Monday: “Ireland and America, we are siblings. We consider America our big sibling. So, it’s important for Ireland to be a peaceful, happy, prosperous country – for the 40m Irish-Americans to have a place to visit, to come back to their home.

“So, we wish for our relationship with the United States to continue, and we wish to be taken care of by the big bro; the US should look after its little bro. That’s how we feel.”

Conor McGregor addressing reporters from the White House Press Briefing Room (Getty Images)

In November 2023, McGregor was accused of stoking tension in Dublin as the city suffered from riots, in the wake of an attack on a group of children by a reportedly Irish-Algerian man. The stabbing left a five-year-old girl seriously injured and led to violent protests in the Irish capital.

McGregor criticised the government’s reaction to the attack, having already been vocal after the sentencing of a Slovak man, who was jailed for life over the murder of a 23-year-old Irish woman. At the time, McGregor said: “I do not condone last night’s riots [...] I do understand frustrations, however, and I do understand a move must be made to ensure the change we need is ushered in.”

McGregor was again in the news in November 2024, when a civil-court jury found he had raped a woman in Dublin in 2018. McGregor, who denied a claim that he “brutally raped and battered” the woman, said he would appeal the verdict, which required him to pay over £200,000 in damages.