“Ireland, we are at war,” Conor McGregor tweeted one day before the 23 November 2023 anti-immigrant riots in Dublin that led to some serious property damage and public uproar. This entire set of events was spurred by the horrific stabbing of three schoolchildren earlier the same day, which led to protests in the Irish capital. It is safe to say that the backlash was palpable. And ‘Mystic Mac’ took to social media and reacted to the riots again.
“There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place. Make change or make way. Ireland for the victory,” ‘The Notorious’ tweeted. “You reap what you sow,” he said in a subsequent post, throwing his weight behind the anti-immigrant movement in Ireland. According to reports, two years after the tweets, and a few days after the UFC superstar announced he would be contesting Ireland’s Presidential elections later this year, Ireland’s Office of the Directors of Public Prosecution is thinking of charging the Dubliner for the tweets over concerns they may have contributed to inciting the riots.
To be clear, ‘The Notorious’ has not been charged so far but could be in the future if the DPP so wants. And UFC legend Michael Bisping finds the whole thing quite fishy and feels the ‘left-wing media’ and the Irish prosecutors are out to get him because of his political aspirations.
“McGregor’s announced he’s going to run for Prime Minister [President in reality] of Ireland, and already the social media attacks have started on him… Fair play, free world that we live in, if he wants to give it a go he can give it a go. But it appears that the left-wing media are going after him pretty hard. Yeah, so they are saying that these tweets that he sent out in 2023 were inciting violence or harassment, you know. So they are now going after him over two-year-old you know two-year-old tweet to try to arrest him. The tweet is ‘Ireland we are at war’ and that was actually in reference to if I get this correct, some immigrant stabbing three children to death,” Bisping said on his ‘Believe You Me’ podcast with co-host Paul Felder.
“So he’s annoyed and mad and angry at the death of three young children getting brutally stabbed, anybody should be in uproar about that. And they’re trying to cling on to that now and give him charges for a tweet that goes back to 2023. Three years, it’s very convenient timing,” he added.
Cannes – Elvis Screening Conor McGregor attended the screening of Elvis during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2022, in Cannes, France. Photo by Shootpix/ABACAPRESS.COM Cannes France PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxESPxUKxUSAxBELxPOL Copyright: xShootpix/ABACAx 811615_229 Shootpix/ABACAx 811615_229
This may come as a surprise to Americans since tweeting out the things McGregor did are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. However, the free speech laws are not as expansive in Ireland. According to a report by the ‘Sunday Independent’, the prosecutors are mulling charging ‘The Notorious’ under the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 and could face up to seven years in prison if found guilty.
As we have mentioned, the Irishman has not been charged with any offenses yet, and may not be charged at all. But even the fact that there is a chance concerns Bisping, who seemingly thinks these attacks are a deliberate attempt to manufacture some more outrage against the Presidential hopeful.
The UFC Hall of Famer, in fact, seemingly believes that the prosecutors may be politically motivated and mulling charges against McGregor are a result of his desire to run for President. But one Irish professor with intimate knowledge of the Irish political system feels that no one needs to ‘sabotage’ ‘Mystic Mac’s Presidential run for one simple reason.
Irish professor claims there is almost no chance Conor McGregor even gets to run for President
According to Gail McElroy, professor of political science at Trinity College Dublin, the chances that Conor McGregor even gets to run for President of Ireland are “Close to zero.” Why? Well, according to her, “there’s two hurdles. First, you have to get nominated and then you have to win a majority of the vote. Both of those hurdles are almost insurmountable [for McGregor].”
According to Irish law, all candidates running for President need to be nominated, either by a) twenty members of the Irish Parliament or; b) four of the Republic of Ireland’s thirty-one local councils. Professor McElroy believes that the first method is completely off the table since “most of those [Irish Parliamentarians] are party affiliated and they won’t nominate [McGregor for President].”
But that still leaves the second way. Being nominated by four local councils, doesn’t it? Maybe ‘Mystic Mac’ could get a nomination from that route and run for President. But the Professor feels that won’t be the case since “Conor McGregor is toxic in Ireland” and local councils typically nominate “likable candidates who county councils feel should have the option to run.”
So it seems that Bisping doesn’t need to worry about charges derailing McGregor’s Presidential run since it may not even get off the ground at all. What do you think about Michael Bisping’s take on Conor McGregor possibly being charged for his controversial tweets?
The post “It’s Very Convenient Timing” – UFC Hall-of-Famer Defends Conor McGregor as Irish Presidential Run Under Threat appeared first on EssentiallySports.