Politics watch: Widespread condemnation of McGregor/Trump meeting
James Cox
Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Widespread condemnation of McGregor/White House meeting
Taoiseach Micheál Martin's meeting with US president Donald Trump in the White House went off without any negative incidents, something Mr Martin would have been looking to avoid after the fiery Oval Office encounter with Volodymy Zelenskiy.
Mr Martin was criticised by opposition TDs over an awkward laugh when Mr Trump made a joke about Ireland's housing crisis, but other than that the visit was considered a success.
That was until it was completely overshadowed by Mr Trump's surprise visitor on St Patrick's Day, Conor McGregor.
McGregor made a number of unfounded claims about immigration to Ireland in the White House press briefing room before his meeting with Mr Trump.
He also labelled Ireland America's "little bro", adding: "We wish to be taken care of by the big bro."
McGregor praised Mr Trump’s work ethic as “inspiring” as he met him in the Oval Office on Monday, while the president described him as “fantastic”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris quickly issued statements in which they said McGregor does not represent Irish people, and has no mandate to speak for the Irish public.
Opposition figures also criticised McGregor, and rieterated that he does not speak for the Irish public.
His visit to the White House came months after he was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape.
Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, won her claim against McGregor after accusing the professional fighter of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
Ms Hand, 35, was awarded damages and costs after a three-week trial last year in which the jury found him civilly liable for assault.
A judge at the High Court in Dublin later said the jury had “conclusively determined” that McGregor had raped Ms Hand.
McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case.
Rachel Morrogh, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said the meeting between Trump and McGregor was a “very sinister event”.
Ms Morrogh described the engagement as an attempt to normalise sexual violence and rebuild McGregor’s reputation.
She told RTÉ’s News At One that she was writing to the US embassy over what she said was a “really callous indifference to every survivor of sexual violence”.
In a strongly-worded statement on his Instagram account, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar referred to the case in which a jury found McGregor civilly liable in a case taken by a woman who accused him of rape.
Mr Varadkar wrote: "Good Irish dads teach their sons to detest men like Conor and their daughters to avoid men like him. Irish America know this.”
Irish exports to US
Nearly half of all Irish goods exported in January went to the US, according to figures published ahead of expected US tariffs imposed on the EU.
There was an 81 per cent increase in the value of Irish exported goods compared with January 2024 (worth €11.7 billion).
The export of medical and pharmaceutical products increased by 68 per cent in January compared with 12 months previous, and represented 61 per cent of total exports that month.
Figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Tuesday indicate that the US was also Ireland’s largest market for imports.
Jane Burmanje, CSO statistician, said: “Exports of goods to the United States were 11.7 billion euro in January 2025, accounting for 48.4% of total good exports, while imports of goods from the US were 2.1 billion euro, representing 19.7% of total imports, making it the largest market for Ireland in this period.”
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said that while the figures were only for one month, “that single month does point to a broader way in which our trade has been structured with the United States”.
Abroad
US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed during a call on Tuesday to seek a limited ceasefire against energy and infrastructure targets in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the White House.
The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting.
“Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace,” the White House said in a statement.
“The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people.”
The White House said negotiations would “begin immediately” on those steps.
It was not immediately clear whether Ukraine is on board with the phased ceasefire plan.