'My heart fell': Paschal Donohoe slams McGregor’s White House visit
UFC fighter Conor McGregor and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday. Picture: White House/X
The Finance Minister has said that his "heart fell" as an Irish man to see Conor McGregor invited to the White House for St Patrick's Day.
The MMA fighter, who last year was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape, met with US president Donald Trump in Washington DC on Monday and told reporters that Ireland was being "failed" by the Government.
His appearance with Mr Trump was criticised by leaders here but came just days after Mr Trump had picked Mr McGregor as his "favourite Irishman" in an Oval Office press briefing while sitting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Speaking in Dublin on Tuesday, Paschal Donohoe said that Mr Martin had performed well "in difficult circumstances".
He said that it was for the Trump administration to decide who to invite to the White House, but that he does not believe Mr McGregor represents Irish people.
My heart fell when I saw Conor McGregor in the Oval Office," he said.
"It fell as somebody who's been very proud to represent Ireland in America and elsewhere, and it also fell as a man, because Conor McGregor does not represent this country. He doesn't represent the men of this country. And I have no doubt that there are many who, when they saw him in the White House, that not only saw their hearts fall, but were also very upset.
"And to them, I want to assure those who felt like that that the values of diversity, the values of respecting each other, and the values of how we relate to each other within our country - that those are ones that are dear to our country, to our society, and to those who represent Ireland abroad.
"And that was not evident in the White House in terms of the points that Conor McGregor made, and I, for one in the weeks, months and years that lie ahead will continue to make the case for a very different kind of Ireland in how we represent ourselves abroad, and in the debates and the discussions that we need to have at home."
Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ní Láimhín, won her claim against McGregor after accusing the professional fighter of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
Ms Hand, 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. McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case.
