Earlier, McGregor told reporters that he was going to voice concerns about immigration issues in Ireland when he spoke to the president.

Accompanied by his partner and four children, the controversial MMA fighter praised the president’s work ethic as “inspiring” as he met him in the Oval Office.

Trump hailed McGregor’s own work rate, and described him as “fantastic”.

Last week, during a meeting at the White House with Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin, the US president praised McGregor’s tattoos.

The fighter also attended President Trump’s inauguration in January.

In 2024, a woman who accused McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel won a claim against him for damages in a civil case.

A jury found that he had assaulted her and ordered him to pay more than €248,000 (£206,000).

Earlier on Monday, McGregor appeared at the White House press briefing room lectern with press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who confirmed the meeting was scheduled for later in the day.

Ms Leavitt said she “couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on St Patrick’s Day”.

The fighter said he planned to “raise the issues the people of Ireland face”.

He accused the Irish government of “abandoning” the voices of the people of Ireland as he criticised immigration policies.

“What is going on in Ireland is a travesty,” he said.

“Our money is being spent on overseas issues that is nothing to do with the Irish people,” he added.

McGregor has previously spoken out against Ireland’s policies on immigration and asylum seekers.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin was critical of McGregor’s comments, posting on social media: “St Patrick’s Day around the world is a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship.

“Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland,” Martin added.

Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris said the MMA fighter has visited Washington DC in a “personal capacity” and that he is not representing the country.

“He doesn’t speak for Ireland. He doesn’t speak for the people of Ireland. He has no mandate to do such,” Harris said to reporters in New York.

He said the president is “perfectly entitled” to invite whoever he wishes to the White House.

“But let me be very clear, Conor McGregor is not here in the United States representing Ireland or the people of Ireland.”

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member Matthew O’Toole described McGregor’s White House appearance as an “insult to the island of Ireland” and “deeply depressing”.

“That Trump and his administration thought on Ireland’s national day to invite and clearly make a huge effort to platform and amplify McGregor, who is an appalling individual, is frankly beyond the pale,” he told BBC News NI.

On Monday, McGregor was also pictured alongside Elon Musk in the Oval Office.

Mr Musk is a close ally of the US president and is leading efforts to reduce the size of the federal government.

He appeared at the White House press briefing room lectern on Monday with press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who confirmed the meeting was scheduled for later in the day.

Ms Leavitt said she “couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on St Patrick’s Day”.

Last week, during a meeting at the White House with Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin, the US president praised McGregor’s tattoos.

In 2024, a woman who accused McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel won a claim against him for damages in a civil case.

A jury found that he had assaulted her and ordered him to pay more than €248,000 (£206,000).

On Monday, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that the fighter said he planned to “raise the issues the people of Ireland face”.

McGregor has previously spoken out against Ireland’s policies on immigration and asylum seekers.

Posting on X about McGregor’s White House visit the Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “St Patrick’s Day around the world is a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship.

“Conor McGregor’s remarks are wrong and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”

The boxer also attended President Trump’s inauguration in January.

In January, Judge Alex Owens ordered the former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter not to share the footage and to give back or destroy any copies.

The judge said the jury in the civil trial conclusively determined Mr McGregor raped Ms Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

He said it was not open to McGregor to selectively use evidence in the public arena to suit himself.

The footage showed McGregor, Ms Hand and two others, James Lawrence and Danielle Kealy, in the car park and lift of the Beacon Hotel in Dublin, before and after McGregor assaulted Ms Hand.

It was played to the court on multiple occasions during the trial and viewed by the jury during their deliberations.

McGregor had claimed Ms Hand did not look like someone who had been seriously assaulted in the footage.

Ms Hand became very upset when it was shown in court and said she was clearly very drunk in the footage.

On Thursday, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that lawyers for Ms Hand asked the judge to issue an injunction against McGregor, which they said would further restrain him from publishing or sharing the footage.

Ms Hand’s senior counsel, John Gordon, said McGregor was not clear enough in his affidavits to the court and that he would have expected McGregor to address a specific issue about causing anybody to receive the footage.

Mr Gordon referred to a newspaper article which referenced a claim by an Italian business associate of McGregor, Gabriel Ernesto Rapisarda, who claimed after the trial that the imminent release of the footage would increase sales of McGregor’s stout.

However, the judge said he had to rely on affidavits from people and, according to McGregor’s affidavit, he had taken the steps asked of him and that any urgency in January had now blown over.

The judge said McGregor was the “author of his own misfortune” by sharing a social media post and that he was satisfied with the affidavits.

Senior counsel Remy Farrell, for McGregor, agreed with the judge that his client had done everything he was asked to do.

The judge awarded costs for this action against McGregor.

Ms Hand, who accused McGregor of raping her, took a claim against him and another man, Mr Lawrence, for damages in a civil case.

In the Irish courts, a civil action means – unlike a criminal case – there is no automatic anonymity for either the complainant or the accused.

McGregor was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages after a jury found he had sexually assaulted Ms Hand.

The jury found that Mr Lawrence did not assault her.

Speaking outside the court following the decision, Ms Hand said her story was “a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be to speak up, you have a voice”.

A judge later ruled that the MMA star must pay Ms Hand’s legal costs.

Last month, McGregor lodged an appeal against the judgment that he assaulted Ms Hand.

Last year, a woman who accused him of raping her won her claim against him for damages.

A jury found that McGregor assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

He was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages.

The ex-MMA fighter was also ordered to pay the costs of taking the civil action against him.

The Irish fighter added in his revelation on X that he is in talks with the family of billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani for the bout. “I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in India. I have agreed,” McGregor wrote on Tuesday.

McGregor also said that rumours of a potential bout with Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Ilia Topuria were false. McGregor said he would “seek his return to the Octagon” after his boxing exhibition with Paul.

Topuria also denied any speculation he would fight McGregor.“The rumors of bout with mchicken are false,” Topuria said on social media. “I don’t fight nor am I interested in fighting with a rapist.”

McGregor announcement comes less than a month after a civil court jury in Ireland ruled he must pay nearly $257,000 to a woman who said he “brutally raped and battered” her at a Dublin hotel penthouse in December 2018.

Nikita Hand said the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex.

The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done.

The 36-year-old McGregor was once the biggest UFC star, but he has not fought injuring his leg since during a bout with Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He pulled out of a scheduled UFC 303 match with Michael Chandler last June and said later that it was due to a broken toe.

Paul is a YouTuber-turned-boxer. He previously survived eight rounds against retired five-division champion Floyd Mayweather, who is 18 years his senior, in a fight three years ago. His brother Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson last month in Arlington, Texas.

The Jake Paul-Tyson fight was the first live sports event on Netflix, which announced that the bout was viewed in 60 million households.

The museum has said it removed the figure of the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from public viewing two weeks ago in light of his civil trial case.

On Friday, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found he had assaulted Nikita Hand by raping her in a hotel in Dublin in December 2018.

McGregor was ordered to pay Ms Hand almost €250,000 (£206,000) in damages.

In the statement, the museum said: “As a family-friendly attraction, we regularly review our exhibits to ensure they align with our values and the expectations of our visitors.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and make decisions about future displays accordingly.

“The sculpture was “one of the more popular ones”, especially with tourists, a spokesperson told Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

“If you look at most photos online taken by people visiting the museum, a lot would be with McGregor,” the spokesperson said.

The MMA fighter’s father, Tony McGregor, unveiled the waxwork in August 2017.

Following the verdict of the civil rape case, a number of companies have said they will no longer stock products which have been linked to Conor McGregor.

The company that now owns a whiskey originally co-founded by the fighter has said it would no longer be using his name and image for their marketing.

A spokeswoman for Proximo Spirits said it had been the “100% owner of Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey since 2021”.

Belfast bar Filthy McNasty’s on the Dublin Road has said it is suspending its sale of McGregor’s Forged branded stout, which it helped to launch in December 2023.

The bar, which sports a mural on the side of its building advertising the brand, told the Irish News it is “currently awaiting” the mural being removed.

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has also pulled products associated with the fighter.

Earlier this week, Tesco said it was removing McGregor’s products from its stores and online.

It was joined by BWG Foods, which said the products were no longer listed for distribution across its network of SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, Londis and XL stores.

Cork-based Barry Group said it had also decided to delist Forged Stout and Proper No Twelve from its Costcutter and Carry Out retail outlets.

A spokeswoman said it reflected the company’s “commitment to maintaining a retail environment that resonates with the values of our customers and partners.

“Supervalu, Centra, Daybreak and Mace, all owned by Musgrave, are also no longer stocking products linked to the mixed martial arts fighter.

Irish airport operator DAA said the whiskey was removed from sale in both Dublin and Cork airports over the weekend.

On Monday evening, several hundred people marched in Dublin in support of Ms Hand.

The protesters marched from Dublin City Hall to the office of the Irish director of public prosecutions (DPP) to express concern at what they believe to be a failure in not taking a criminal case against McGregor.

A higher legal threshold applies to a criminal case than a civil case as in a criminal case the burden of proof is beyond reasonable doubt.

The DPP told Ms Hand in 2020 that there was “insufficient evidence” to bring a criminal case and there was not a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Ms Hand asked the DPP to review the decision, saying she felt she was being treated differently because one of the suspects was famous.

Asked about the DPP’s decision not to prosecute, the outgoing Irish justice minister, Helen McEntee said at the weekend: “We have a very independent system in this country, and I think that’s right.

“I really think it’s important that we respect that independence.”