Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has called for the army to be sent into asylum accommodation and for all undocumented migrants to be expelled, after a knife attack in Belfast triggered days of anti-immigration unrest across the United Kingdom.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion, one of the most prominent anti-immigration voices in Ireland, set out his demand on X on June 9.
“Enter IPAS centres militarily and remove all illegal entrants from this island [ … ] Get them out. Stop them coming,” he wrote, referring to the Republic of Ireland’s asylum accommodation service.
His intervention came after a man in his 40s was stabbed repeatedly in north Belfast late on June 8, suffering serious wounds to his face, eyes, neck and back.
A 30-year-old Sudanese man was charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place and making threats to kill. He was due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.
Police said the suspect had been granted leave to remain in the UK in 2023 after claiming asylum, and was not previously known to officers. They added there was no indication of a terrorist motive.
The charges sparked protests in which hundreds of people took to the streets. Demonstrators torched a bus in east Belfast and set cars and bins alight, while foreign-owned businesses were attacked.
The unrest spread to other parts of the country, with a march in Southampton, southern England. At least four people were arrested on the first night and three police officers were injured.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the assault as “sickening”. Northern Ireland’s main party leaders jointly condemned it as horrific and appealed for calm.
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill warned against attempts to exploit the attack to target migrant communities. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson called for the suspect to be deported if convicted.
McGregor, who holds no elected office, has repeatedly used his large social media following to attack the Irish and British governments over migration. He reposted a call for nationwide rallies from the right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.
The episode echoed unrest in 2025, when anti-immigration rioting in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena drove out much of its Roma population, and protests that followed a fatal stabbing in Dublin in 2023.
Although police have stressed the Belfast investigation continues, the attack has once again fuelled a charged debate over asylum policy in both parts of Ireland.
