Maga hats, an open bar and cheers for an aspiring president marked the end of a day that saw controversial former Fox News host Tucker Carlson taken on a tour of Dublin before interviewing Conor McGregor.
The Black Forge Inn, the Crumlin pub owned by the MMA fighter, was thronged on Tuesday night with people who came to see the conservative US broadcaster sharing McGregor’s message to the masses.
One of Fox News’s biggest stars until he was fired in 2023, Carlson now hosts a show on his own network and has previously interviewed Russian president Vladimir Putin and influencer Andrew Tate, who faces charges of human trafficking.
The event in Crumlin was the culmination of a day which saw Carlson taken around the city by McGregor and others, including anti-immigration councillor Malachy Steenson.
McGregor, who is appealing a High Court civil jury’s finding that he raped a woman in a Dublin hotel, had issued a public invitation on X on Monday evening to his pub, promising a “celebratory atmosphere” with Carlson on Tuesday night.
Those who attended, two of whom wore red Maga hats, were met by an open bar. Various clips of McGregor played on large flat screens as supporters filled the venue awaiting a photo opportunity with him, of which there were many.
One man, standing beside the open bar, was cheering “president McGregor” as he stood for photos.
McGregor has repeated his intention to run in this year’s Irish presidential election since visiting US president Donald Trump at the White House last month on St Patrick’s Day. He then raised the issue of immigration, claiming “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness”.
Shouting briefly to The Irish Times over loud music on Tuesday night, McGregor, who was followed closely by his photographer and bodyguards, described his two-hour interview with Carlson as a “great cause”.
“We had a great chat with Tucker Carlson highlighting the issues Ireland is facing, Ireland’s plight, Ireland’s fight and also Ireland’s delight,” he said.
“It’s not all doom and gloom and we want to keep a positive outlook and move incrementally, step by step, to a better Ireland.”
McGregor described Carlson as a “great listening ear” and said he looked forward to his interview being “absorbed by the Irish public”.
“I spoke from my heart and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Among the group of media that descended on the Crumlin pub was former Fianna Fáil TD and minister of State for integration Conor Lenihan, tasked with writing an article on immigration for Village magazine.
While welcoming that Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan is “upping deportations”, he described “uncontrolled migration” and a general “failure to deport people”.
Lenihan said it is “quite wrong” for politicians to depict “people who are raising genuine concerns as either racist or far-right”.
“It would be interesting to see if the presidential election becomes the vehicle for people to express that frustration,” he said, adding that McGregor could receive a significant number of “protest votes”, should he get a nomination, though he believes that is “most unlikely”.
To be nominated, McGregor must secure the backing of 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.
However, none of the 187 local councillors who responded to a survey carried out by The Irish Times in March said they would seek to nominate the 36-year-old.
