Thousands march in Dublin against Ireland's mass migration policies as McGregor pursues presidential bid

Thousands of radical participated successful a march against Ireland's wide migration policies successful the country's superior of Dublin connected Saturday. 

UFC champion Conor McGregor – who is considering a imaginable statesmanlike bid successful his autochthonal Ireland – posted a video connection beforehand from Dublin's Garden of Remembrance, wherever the march began hours later. 

"Hello everyone successful Ireland. April 26th, 2025 - A large time present for our country. "A historical period for Ireland since 1916," McGregor said, referring to the caller day of the twelvemonth of the Easter Rising against British rule. 

"Over 100 years ago, our brave men and women made the eventual sacrifice truthful that we could unrecorded escaped today. So fto america punctual ourselves wherefore we are here. And besides wherefore we are not here," McGregor said. "We are not present to physique hatred amongst each other. We are not present to sow division. We are present to commemorate the valiant heroes who went earlier us. We grant their spirit, we grant their fight." 

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Thousands of protesters opposed the Irish government's wide migration policies successful a march done successful Dublin City centre connected Saturday April 26, 2025.  (Conor O Mearain/PA Images via Getty Images)

McGregor said the protestation would beryllium intended "to radiance our airy connected the nonaccomplishment of Ireland's authorities and our afloat disapproval of it." 

"Be respectful, beryllium proud, beryllium united," McGregor said. "Because together, we volition beryllium heard, and arsenic one, we volition beryllium victorious successful our mission. To those starring their march and speaking for the tens of thousands lasting down you: beryllium calm, beryllium clear."

"Speak with dignity - we privation to perceive your voice. Together we rise, unneurotic we win," helium added. "God bless america all. God bless Ireland."

The large-scale objection kicked disconnected connected Saturday day successful the garden, arsenic crowds carrying tri-color flags headed down O'Connell Street. 

Some protesters carried placards speechmaking "Irish Lives Matter" and "Ireland is Full," and galore wore greenish hats with the connection "Make Ireland Great Again." 

Irish police, known arsenic gardaí, showed a heightened beingness successful the capital, maintaining a cordoned-off enactment betwixt the marchers and a smaller radical of counter-protesters who gathered successful beforehand of the General Post Office (GPO). 

"Over 106,000 Irish men, women and children attended yesterday’s rally," McGregor wrote connected X Sunday, sharing aerial photos of protesters waving tri-color flags. "Not 1 societal bid incidental to report. Tremendous! Onward for Ireland!"

Police aboriginal said "no large incidents" happened Saturday, though 3 radical had been arrested for "public bid offenses," according to the Irish nationalist broadcaster RTE. Police declined to supply further information. 

The counter-protest was organized by United Against Racism and was backed by members of absorption parties including Sinn Féin, Labor, People Before Profit, the Social Democrats, the Socialist Party and the Green Party, according to The Irish Times.

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They held banners that read, "Boycott Apartheid Israel" and "Dublin Stands Against Racism," according to photos from the scene. 

Gardai connected work adjacent a counter-protest astatine the GPO connected Saturday April 26, 2025.  (Conor O Mearain/PA Images via Getty Images)

McGregor archetypal announced his involvement successful moving for president of Ireland aft gathering with President Donald Trump connected St. Patrick's Day, though the combatant has suggested the country's information process is stacked against outsiders similar himself. 

Those who spoke astatine the march included Dublin City councilors Gavin Pepper, Philip Sutcliffe and Malachy Steenson and Fingal councilor Patrick Quinlan, according to Breakingnews.ie.

"The information of the substance is we’re bringing successful thousands and thousands of radical and putting them up successful hotels portion our ain radical are being near to rot… We’ve had capable of this successful Ireland," Pepper said to a cheering Dublin crowd, according to a video shared connected X. "Irish radical travel archetypal successful our ain country. It’s clip for wide deportation. The traitors of Sinn Féin bash not care." 

The premier curate of Ireland, who holds the rubric of taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told reporters connected Sunday that helium did not "accept the negativity from those who spoke yesterday successful respect of wherever 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 accidental successful modern Ireland contiguous again is acold successful excess of thing erstwhile generations experienced successful presumption of acquisition completion and truthful on," Martin, who besides met with Trump successful the Oval Office earlier successful March, said. "The large societal contented of our time is housing, but we're focused connected solutions to that and little truthful connected the rhetoric of it." 

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Asked astir the increasing size of the "Irish nationalist" movement, Martin said the "ballot container is the cardinal metric, the cardinal determinant of the enactment of society, who gets elected into government, who gets elected into section councils." 

"And I deliberation it has to beryllium based connected ideas and policies," helium said. "We judge we person a stronger acceptable of ideas than possibly those who articulated yesterday."