Former mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has said he wants to be the next president of Ireland and said he would put the EU Migration Pact to a referendum if elected.
McGregor, who met US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday on St Patrick’s Day, said on social media that he is “greatly” opposed to the measure but “it is neither mine nor governments [sic] choice to make.
“It is the people of Ireland’s [sic] choice!”
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In the post on his Instagram account on Thursday night, he said he would like to know why the country’s government agreed with the pact “so fervently”.
He said everyone in Ireland would “have a voice and a choice on their future!” He urged them to vote McGregor, “and have your voice heard!”
In a picture accompanying his post, McGregor stood in front of an aircraft holding a young child and wearing a green baseball cap with the slogan “Make Ireland Great Again”.
McGregor, 36, used his White House visit to criticise immigration, saying Ireland “was at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness” due to the “illegal immigration racket”.
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The visit and comments made by McGregor in Washington drew sharp criticism from Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin who said the remarks were “wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland”.
Read more: McGregor’s chances of becoming president
Deputy prime minister Simon Harris said McGregor “has no mandate to” speak for the people of Ireland.
The Pact on Migration and Asylum is “a set of new rules managing migration and establishing a common asylum system at EU level,” the EU Commission says on its website.
Last year, Nikita Hand, who accused McGregor of raping her, won her civil case and was awarded more than £200,000 in damages. A jury at Dublin’s High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case.
McGregor also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in a Dublin pub in 2019.
McGregor, nicknamed the Notorious, rose to worldwide prominence for winning several UFC championships.
