A man who was punched by Conor McGregor in a Dublin pub says he’s not surprised the UFC star is now under investigation for inciting hatred.

Desmond Keogh was punched by McGregor in the Marble Arch pub in Drimnagh, Dublin in April 2019, after he refused an offer by him to sample his ‘Proper 12’ whiskey. This week this paper revealed how McGregor is now being investigated by gardai over online remarks he made on X (Formerly Twitter ) around the riots which occurred in Dublin last Thursday.

And now Mr Keogh has told how he is not surprised by the development - adding that he still doesn’t think very highly of the MMA fighter.

Read more: Conor McGregor officially part of Dublin riots garda probe over incitement to hatred

Read more: Gardai appeal for footage and images of Dublin riots

“That wouldn’t come as a surprise to me. Well you know my opinion anyway. He’s not a very nice person in my opinion. I don't think he’s making very many friends anyway. There’s an awful lot of people who don’t like the man.”

The Irish Mirror has learned that following an examination of recent social media remarks by the UFC star, McGregor is now part of a wider official criminal investigation which was formally alluded to by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on Monday.

Commissioner Harris revealed to Dublin City Council’s Joint Policing Committee on Monday afternoon that there are now three live investigations surrounding the horrific events of last Thursday - one on the stabbing, one on the riots, and another on social media commentary suspected of inciting hate.

McGregor, who tweeted that Ireland was "at war" and "you reap what you sow" has not been spoken to by gardai at this juncture, and a spokesperson for him did not return a comment before this article went to print.

Meanwhile this paper has learned that off the back of remarks made by the Commissioner on Monday, gardai are set to ask the UK police for help in enhancing the thousands of hours of CCTV and other footage of the events last week - in order to speed up the investigation into the violence which occurred in the city.

The Commissioner is set to ask UK police, including possibly the Metropolitan Police for help with the footage in an effort to bring about hundreds of arrests following the destruction in the capital that saw buses and a Luas set on fire, gardai attacked and businesses ransacked and looted.

Commissioner Harris was speaking to a meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in Dublin City Council when he also denied that gardai were “caught out” by the horror events last week and said public order policing had been increased in the capital since late September.

It comes as the Commissioner also implied there could be hundreds of arrests stemming from the violence last week which occurred after a horrific incident in which a man randomly stabbed three children and a creche worker - leaving a five year old girl fighting for her life.

Last night that little girl remained in a critical condition in Dublin's Temple Street Children's Hospital.

It is understood there remains serious concerns for the child's condition, while the suspect is in an induced coma with serious head injuries - and has not yet been spoken to by gardai.

In an interview with The Star in 2019, Mr Keogh referred to McGregor as “a bit of a bully with money.” And he added he believed McGregor punched him because the MMA star felt disrespected – after Mr Keogh refused a glass of his Proper 12 whiskey.

He told us then - “I am sitting on the barstool just having a quiet pint with my friend then all of a sudden because I refuse his drink I get a punch, you don’t need that in life.”

And he added that, although the smack hurt, he was not floored by it. “Look-it, I can take a punch,” he said.
“He approached me from the left hand side. I was ready to go. He said, ‘will you have one of my whiskeys?’

“I said ‘no’. I don’t like whiskey. I’m a Guinness man. I put the glass up on (the counter). He said ‘no you will have it with me.’ I said ‘I don’t want it’.

“I think I'll put it back up again. He obviously got aggravated that I had disrespected and that’s when he gave me the punch.”

After pleading guilty, McGregor issued a statement in which he apologised saying: “What I did was very wrong and I’d like to apologise again to the injured party and today before the court and assure you that nothing of this nature will happen again.”

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