A lively crowd gathered at the Black Forge Inn in Drimnagh yesterday evening after its proprietor, MMA champion Conor McGregor, shared an open invitation to his X followers “to drop in for a pint” during a visit by US news giant Tucker Carlson.
Carlson and his team travelled to Dublin to interview McGregor who has been voicing hopes to become the next President of Ireland.
Much attention has been garnered stateside after the Crumlin native made a short speech at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day which highlighted issues related to the effect of large-scale migration on the country to which approximately 40,000,000 Americans claim heritage.
The Carlson interview, which was in the region of an hour in length, focused on the immigration issue and concern for the future of Ireland as the country experiences significant demographic change, McGregor said.
Now a strict teetotaler, Carlson had to decline the offer of a pint of Forged Irish Stout from his host.
Speaking to a journalist who had flown in from the UK, McGregor said that he believes he has the endorsement of US President Donald Trump for his own presidential ambitions, however he still needs the majority backing of four local authorities or 20 TDs/Senators, which some commentators feel is very unlikely to happen.
Among those in attendance were former Fianna Fáil politician Conor Lenihan, three independent councilors from Dublin and Kildare, businessperson Chay Bowes, Angolan comedian ‘Black Paddy’, some prominent social media commentators, as well as a smattering of journalists.
The crowd was diverse in age and profession, with guests mingling freely as the friendly bar staff were kept on their toes in efforts to meet the demand for the complimentary drinks.
McGregor’s co-defendant in the civil rape case taken by former hairdresser Nikita Hand, James Lawrence, was also in attendance along with a number of those who had supported the sporting star during the hearings.
The bar was open to all with drinks on the house as a live band played well known sing along hits including some Irish pub favorites like, ‘Dirty Old Town’ and ‘Grace’.
A beaming McGregor posed for a photo with a young boy who he called a “champ” as the delighted child held one of his MMA belts.
The atmosphere was lighthearted and jovial, however a consistent topic of conversation among the crowd was the deep sense of dissatisfaction with how the immigration issue is being handled by the government.
Speaking to Gript, a young man who said he was present during a ‘Coolock Says No,’ demonstration claimed to have been pepper sprayed by members of the Garda Public Order Unit while assisting an elderly woman.
While the plans to house male asylum seekers in the former Crown Paints facility have been shelved, the young man expressed concern for the future of the nearby crematorium saying that it was being “done up” and that the number of “new windows” raised suspicions that this could be the next IPAS venture.