Joe Brolly has slammed Conor McGregor for online comments the UFC star made prior to the riots in Dublin on Thursday.
After five people were injured during a stabbing on Parnell Square, McGregor took to social media to suggest that "Ireland is at war" and that "you reap what you sow".
Following the stabbing incident, protestors gathered at the scene before making their way to the O’Connell Street area, where buses, trams and Garda cars were set on fire, and a number of shops were looted.
Read more: Another Dublin bus set on fire in Parnell Square
Read more: Gardai set to use Facial Recognition Technology to identify those behind Dublin riots
When asked by the Irish Mirror about the online comments of MMA Fighter Conor McGregor, Tánaiste Micheál Martin did not reference McGregor by name but said that many of the comments made by some people online have been “disgraceful”.
Martin said: “There has been many comments I’ve watched online of that type which are absolutely disgraceful.
"We have a parliamentary democracy, we value that, Irish people do as well. Isolated voices like that and voices that essentially are inciting hate and to some degree incitement is unacceptable.”
McGregor's comments prior to the riots have also been strongly criticised by barrister and GAA pundit Joe Brolly.
The former Derry player referenced posts made by McGregor before and after the riots took place in the city.
"Conor’s contributions are typical of wealthy haters," Brolly said.
"First: stir it up: ‘Ireland, we are at war’ (what a load of crap). Then, when it kicks off (didn’t see him there): ‘Despicable scenes last night’ (Uses 2 pics of non whites)"
The Irish Mirror also asked Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about McGregor’s comments but he said he did want to comment on individuals.
“I’ve seen that and I’ve seen that preceded it in the preceding weeks. We have laws and we're going to need stronger laws. I'm not gonna get into any individual but incitement to hatred, incitement to violence is a reality in our society.
“We need to have the strongest laws possible so that we can hold those who incite hatred and violence to account.”
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