Thousands march in Dublin against Ireland's mass migration policies as McGregor pursues presidential bid
Thousands of people participated in a march against Ireland's mass migration policies in the country's capital of Dublin on Saturday.
UFC champion Conor McGregor – who is considering a potential presidential bid in his native Ireland – posted a video message beforehand from Dublin's Garden of Remembrance, where the march began hours later.
"Hello everyone in Ireland. April 26th, 2025 - A big day here for our country. "A historic month for Ireland since 1916," McGregor said, referring to the recent anniversary of the year of the Easter Rising against British rule.
"Over 100 years ago, our brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live free today. So let us remind ourselves why we are here. And also why we are not here," McGregor said. "We are not here to build hatred amongst each other. We are not here to sow division. We are here to commemorate the valiant heroes who went before us. We honor their spirit, we honor their fight."
McGregor said the protest would be intended "to shine our light on the failure of Ireland's government and our full disapproval of it."
"Be respectful, be proud, be united," McGregor said. "Because together, we will be heard, and as one, we will be victorious in our mission. To those leading their march and speaking for the tens of thousands standing behind you: be calm, be clear."
"Speak with dignity - we want to hear your voice. Together we rise, together we win," he added. "God bless us all. God bless Ireland."
The large-scale demonstration kicked off on Saturday afternoon in the garden, as crowds carrying tri-color flags headed down O'Connell Street.
Some protesters carried placards reading "Irish Lives Matter" and "Ireland is Full," and many wore green hats with the message "Make Ireland Great Again."
Irish police, known as gardaí, showed a heightened presence in the capital, maintaining a cordoned-off line between the marchers and a smaller group of counter-protesters who gathered in front of the General Post Office (GPO).
"Over 106,000 Irish men, women and children attended yesterday's rally," McGregor wrote on X on Sunday, sharing aerial photos of protesters waving tri-color flags. "Not one social order incident to report. Tremendous! Onward for Ireland!"
Police later said "no major incidents" happened Saturday, though three people had been arrested for "public order offenses," according to the Irish public broadcaster RTE. Police declined to provide additional information.
The counter-protest was organized by United Against Racism and was backed by members of opposition parties including Sinn Féin, Labor, People Before Profit, the Social Democrats, the Socialist Party and the Green Party, according to The Irish Times.
They held banners that read, "Boycott Apartheid Israel" and "Dublin Stands Against Racism," according to photos from the scene.
McGregor first announced his interest in running for president of Ireland after meeting with President Donald Trump on St. Patrick's Day, though the fighter has suggested the country's nomination process is stacked against outsiders like himself.
Those who spoke at the march included Dublin City councilors Gavin Pepper, Philip Sutcliffe and Malachy Steenson and Fingal councilor Patrick Quinlan, according to Breakingnews.ie.
"The fact of the matter is we're bringing in thousands and thousands of people and putting them up in hotels while our own people are being left to rot… We've had enough of this in Ireland," Pepper said to a cheering Dublin crowd, according to a video shared on X. "Irish people come first in our own country. It's time for mass deportation. The traitors of Sinn Féin do not care."
The prime minister of Ireland, who holds the title of taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told reporters on Sunday that he did not "accept the negativity from those who spoke yesterday in respect of where modern Ireland is today," according to a video shared online by Susanne Delaney, a contributor to the anti-globalist outlet Irish Inquiry.
"The level of opportunity in modern Ireland today again is far in excess of anything previous generations experienced in terms of educational completion and so on," Martin, who also met with Trump in the Oval Office earlier in March, said. "The big social issue of our day is housing, but we're focused on solutions to that and less so on the rhetoric of it."
Asked about the growing size of the "Irish nationalist" movement, Martin said the "ballot box is the key metric, the key determinant of the organization of society, who gets elected into government, who gets elected into local councils."
"And I think it has to be based on ideas and policies," he said. "We believe we have a stronger set of ideas than perhaps those who articulated yesterday."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LA police shot my photographer in the head
A pepper ball round thwacks my colleague in the side of the head as we run away from police. A cloud of the irritant fills the air, coating my goggles, followed by a crackle and the glare of flash bangs. 'Go, go, go!' he shouts. Police officers are firing into the crowd protesting against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in downtown Los Angeles. Once again, reporters appear to be in the crosshairs. Jon Putman, The Telegraph's photographer, took a blow to the head, one of many journalists hit or detained since protests broke out on Friday. Jon was struck in the ear, narrowly avoiding a serious injury. 'If it hit me right in the head it would have knocked me down and I would have been out of commission,' he said. Los Angeles is being heavily militarised. Mr Trump sent in 1,700 of National Guard over the weekend, and a further 700 marines on Monday. There are now more US soldiers here than in Syria. We weren't the only journalists to come under fire amidst the protests on Monday night, which appear to be shrinking in scale but not have been more than two dozen attacks on reporters covering the Los Angeles riots in the past few days, with clearly identified members of the press having been shot at point-blank range by police officers. An Australian broadcaster was shot in the leg, a New York Post photographer in the head and a CNN reporter was briefly detained live on air. Credit: CNN British photojournalist Nick Stern required emergency surgery after being shot by an explosive round on Saturday. Sergio Olmos, an investigative reporter for the nonprofit news outlet CalMatters, told the Washington Post that he had never seen more non-lethal rounds used at a protest. On Monday evening, the smell of paint lingered in the air in Los Angeles as teenagers spray painted the pavements, walls and bus stops with slogans such as 'fight hate with hate' and 'I'll be here till I decide not to be'. Snipers stationed on the roof of the Federal Building watched through binoculars as protesters climbed traffic lights and revved their motorcycles. A black Cybertruck graffitied with 'f--- ICE' [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] was filmed driving around the protest with a Mexican flag attached to the back. On Sunday, demonstrators torched self-driving cars, threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks and scooters at police officers. Officers have fired non-lethal rounds into crowds, and in at least one instance were filmed firing pepper ball rounds (small plastic bullets filled with irritant) point blank at a protester before hitting him with batons. Credit: @Julio_Rosas11/X In another, ICE officers swept in on a man in a yellow jacket before tackling him to the ground and arresting him, while other protesters were detained, their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and put into police vans. The protests erupted in the city on Friday in response to ICE officers conducting a string of raids as part of Mr Trump's aggressive immigration policies. More than 40 people – said to be day labourers – were targeted at a Home Depot car park and Ambiance Apparel, a clothing manufacturer, in LA's fashion district. The crackdown is the Trump administration's latest test to the limits to his presidential authority to force Democrat-run states to adhere to federal decree, while also attempting to show its might by ordering troops onto the streets. US Marines have been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 attacks in 2001, but it is extremely rare for the military to be used for domestic policing. When all the deployed officers arrive, it will mean there are more than 4,000 troops in Los Angeles, more than double the number of US troops in Syria. Credit: Sergio Olmos/X The news of yet more reinforcements further inflamed tensions between Gavin Newsom, the California governor, and Mr Trump, who continued to publicly attack each other on Monday. Mr Newsom, who has sued the administration to try and block the deployment of marines and troops, accused the Trump administration of mistreating those already in the city, of which only 300 have so far have been deployed. Sharing a picture of troops dressed in fatigues sleeping on the floor, Mr Newsom wrote: 'If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you.'He urged the US president to 'grow up' and urged him 'get it over with, arrest me, move on, if you need some head to scalp do it with me'. Justifying the decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles, Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security, claimed ICE agents were targeting the 'worst of the worst' – criminal illegal immigrants hiding among law-abiding communities. But advocates for immigrants' rights have argued that day labourers being detained outside Home Depot stores suggests otherwise. Julie Flores, 21, wrapped herself in a Mexican flag as she stood on the bonnet of a black car sprayed with the words 'f--- ICE'. The student told The Telegraph the protests 'hit close to home' because her father Jerry Flores, 39, who is originally from Guerrero in Mexico was detained by agents when she was at middle school. 'My grandma would probably not like me being out here... we're out here showing our support, doing the best we can do,' she said. On Monday, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, condemned the ICE raids, claiming they had brought 'fear and terror' to the streets of Los Angeles and were to blame for the unrest. Yurien, 20, found out ICE agents were targeting her father Mario's work at Ambiance Apparel when he messaged her to tell her he was hiding. 'I said 'OK dad, I love you, don't make any noise… I told him I loved him again. He said 'me too, I love you guys…' and since then, I haven't had communication with him,' she told The Telegraph. Yurien, who did not want to give her last name, said she raced to the workplace in downtown Los Angeles and saw her father, who is from Mexico and has lived in the US for decades, being escorted to a van and driven away. 'I felt devastated, mad, angry... because there was nothing I could do to stop it,' she said, clutching a poster which read 'dad, come back home'. University student Montserrat Arrazola, 22, also saw her father being detained by ICE agents on Friday after she rushed to Ambiance Apparel when she saw the raid was happening on TikTok. Speaking to The Telegraph after a press conference outside the clothing manufacturer on Monday morning, she said: 'I felt powerless. I felt like I had my hands tied because I couldn't do anything.' She has managed to speak to her father, Jorge, who moved to the US from Mexico 'many years ago' on the phone once since then. He said he was okay. 'I have a lot of emotions running through me. I can't really explain,' she said, adding that she had not been to any of the protests that have broken out in response. Joanna Lopez, 17, discovered three of her uncles, who had all moved to the US from Mexico as teenagers, had been detained on Friday after she also saw it unfold on social media. 'I just feel for everybody whose families are being taken away right now,' she said. Ms Lopez, who attended the protest later that day, said she was 'very disappointed' in the people who had turned to violence and vandalism, adding that it portrays the scores of peaceful protesters in a bad light. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Turn Cornwall into industrial zone for net zero, Miliband urged
Cornwall should be made into an industrial hub to fuel net zero, government scientists have urged Ed Miliband. Britain's favourite holiday county and the broader South West of England have been deemed an energy 'super-region', meaning its geology is suited to a raft of new energy-based industries. The hot volcanic rocks lying below parts of Cornwall and Devon make them a top prospect for geothermal energy, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS), which advises the Government on the country's earth science. 'Deep geothermal resources alone could provide enough energy to satisfy the UK's heating needs for at least 100 years,' the quango said. The brines found in many of Cornwall's abandoned mines are also rich in lithium, a mineral essential for making batteries. Meanwhile, Dorset offers the potential for energy storage with rocks suitable for creating caverns to store natural gas or hydrogen, according to the quango. There are already separate plans to create such caverns under Portland Harbour, Britain's former biggest naval base. 'South-west England has significant deep geothermal resources offering opportunities for sustainable heat and power generation,' the BGS said. 'The region's sedimentary basins provide potential sites for carbon capture and storage (CCS), energy storage and geothermal projects … the region is well placed to support the UK's decarbonisation plans.' The Eden Project near St Austell already exploits the region's natural advantages, keeping visitors warm using heat extracted from rocks 3.3-miles beneath its surface. However, the idea of expanding such schemes into a major industry in a county valued for its coastlines, landscapes and tourism is likely to face opposition. The South West is one of several areas whose geology the BGS suggests could support the move to net zero. Others include Northern Ireland, central Scotland, northern England and East Anglia. 'These geological super regions contain subsurface formations and conditions that are favourable to multiple different technologies within a relatively small area,' it said. The Scottish Central Belt is also deemed to be a rich source of geothermal energy with warm underground strata easily accessible via the region's many abandoned coal mines. Michelle Bentham, BGS chief scientist for decarbonisation and resource management, said: 'In Europe, geothermal energy is used much more widely. In the UK, we don't use it as widely and it's always been a bit of a Cinderella of clean energy technologies.' The BGS said careful planning for such technologies in these areas could help unlock an estimated £40bn of annual investment and support the Government's target of creating 650,000 jobs through renewable energy by 2030. Ms Bentham added: 'In the North Sea, we could potentially become a hub for carbon storage in Europe for countries that don't have the right geology who are trying to decarbonise.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Daily T: ‘Tax rises are inevitable' – Rachel Reeves's spending review decoded
The Chancellor's much-anticipated spending review is a day away, with extra cash expected for defence, health and education. Are tax rises on the horizon to pay for all this? Camilla is joined by guest presenter Jacob Rees-Mogg, who says Labour doesn't understand business and argues that Keir Starmer could survive sacking Rachel Reeves… The former Tory MP also reacts to the Government's U-turn on the winter fuel payment, supposedly a response to a healthier economy under Labour. But the unemployment and jobs figures seem to say otherwise. Plus, how two very different rows about immigration triggered riots in North Ireland and in LA. Protests turned violent after an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena, while unrest is ongoing in California's biggest city over ICE raids and Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Watch episodes of the Daily T here. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
