On Tuesday this week, Conor McGregor and Dublin city councillors Malachy Steenson and Philip Sutcliffe took a stroll down Merrion Street outside Government Buildings.
However, the real intrigue was about the man who accompanied them.
Mr Carlson was in Dublin for an interview with Mr McGregor, which has now been released as part of Mr Carlson’s podcast and social channels since this article was written.
A longtime supporter of Donald Trump and recent interviewer of Vladimir Putin, Mr Carlson has become a distinctive voice in American politics.
After being dismissed by Fox News in 2023, Mr Carlson has focused on consolidating and building his platform elsewhere, with over 16 million followers on X.
At the time of writing, his podcast, 'The Tucker Carlson Show’, is the fifth-most listened to on the Spotify charts in the US, and number one among news podcasts.
Mr Carlson undoubtedly enjoys a significant slice of the online political landscape and a large audience of politically engaged followers.
With Conor McGregor appearing to solidify himself as a right-wing political contender, such a collaboration would seem beneficial to his ambitions.
The question is therefore not so much why would Conor McGregor collaborate with Tucker Carlson, but perhaps more pertinently, what does Tucker Carlson see in Conor McGregor?
In November last year, a jury in a civil trial at the High Court found Mr McGregor raped Nikita Hand in a hotel in Dublin in December 2018 and awarded her almost €250,000 in damages.
But as Mr McGregor poured pints in the Black Forge Inn in Crumlin on Tuesday night, the verdict in the civil court seemed very far away.
"God bless you Ireland, I was put on this earth to serve and protect you and I will forever my days!" Mr McGregor said on X ahead of the event.
With Mr Carlson looking on, and the High Court judgment in the recent past, the side of Ireland which Mr McGregor is seeking to "serve and protect" is becoming increasingly clear.
Who is Tucker Carlson?
Tucker Carlson has been a central figure of right-wing American political commentary for over 20 years.
A regular Fox News contributor from 2009 onwards, Mr Carlson hosted his own talk show ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ on Fox News from 2016, at the start of Donald Trump’s first presidency, up until 2023, when he departed the network.
While Fox News gave no reason for Mr Carlson’s exit, it was alleged in a defamation lawsuit against the media company that he allowed debunked election-fraud claims about a voting-technology firm to air on his show.
Following his departure, Mr Carlson criticised mainstream outlets for ignoring what he viewed as the key issues.
In a video posted on social media he said: "The undeniably big topics, the ones that will define our future, get no discussion at all. War, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources."
The ‘big topic’ he appeared to be in Dublin for was to debate demographic change - an issue that is central to Mr McGregor’s political platform.
The last time Mr Carlson discussed Ireland was in the lead up to the family referendum in March last year.
Speaking in a video posted to his X account, Mr Carlson was keen to use Ireland as a case in point for American viewers as a country that has, he claims, been dramatically changed by immigration.
He said: "It’s important to remember that what’s happening in America right now is not just happening in America, it’s happening around the world or around a slice of the world, specifically in European countries and in countries in which the majority of the population has historically been of European descent.
"In all of those countries the population is being changed dramatically by immigration.
"In every one of those countries the history of the people who live there is being erased. And we say all those countries, we mean all of them, and that would include small but fairly influential Ireland, the island off Great Britain.
"In Ireland everything we just said has happened."
It is in these claims where Mr Carlson and Mr McGregor’s world views align.
In recent weeks Mr McGregor has used his X account to claim that the Irish people are being both "ETHNICALLY CLEANSED" and being put through a "GENOCIDE".
The claim that Irish people or Irish history are being erased comes at a time when Irish culture and tradition is arguably stronger than ever.
Lankum and the Mary Wallopers have placed Irish trad music firmly in the mainstream, while the Irish language finds itself in the midst of a strong revival.
Irish actors Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Saoirse Ronan are among the most household names in the film industry, while An Cailín Ciúin and Kneecap have made waves for indigenous Irish filmmaking.
Closer to home, the GAA is seeing consistent increases in player numbers and is showing no signs of loosening its grip on Irish life and culture.
And this is not to mention the contribution to and enrichment of Irish culture by immigrants and those of immigrant backgrounds.
Accusations of increased immigration diluting national identity is a theme that features on Mr Carlson’s podcast.
On the most recent edition, Canadian People's Party leader Maxine Bernier said mass immigration is destroying the Canadian way of life.
Mr Carlson referred to mass immigration to Canada as an "invasion" before claiming that the Canadian, American and European populations are being "replaced".
Presidential bid
Conor McGregor’s attendance at the White House last month solidified his long-standing support for US President Donald Trump.
His admiration of world leaders does not stop in Washington, however.
In 2018 he referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as "one of the greatest leaders of our time".
It is no secret that Mr McGregor has been eyeing up Áras an Uachtaráin for some time, as he bids to take his place alongside Mr Trump and Mr Putin as a bona fide world leader.
It all began in the weeks following the 2023 Dublin riots when Mr McGregor posted to his X account on several occasions alluding to a possible McGregor presidency.
In December 2023, he posted a caricature of himself and his family outside Áras an Uachtaráin with the caption: "President McGregor has a nice ring to it."
In recent months, Mr McGregor has appeared far more serious in his intent to pursue his candidacy.
Last month, he issued a plea for the public to vote for him for President to "SAVE IRELAND".
However, Mr McGregor’s path to a nomination is far from straightforward and any election run appears highly unlikely.
To be eligible for election as president, prospective candidates must be nominated by at least 20 members of the Oireachtas - or have the backing of at least four local authorities.
Neither the Oireachtas nor council routes appear viable to Mr McGregor.
Speaking earlier this week, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said he thinks Mr McGregor’s extreme politics will be "widely rejected" if he attempted to run for the presidency.
"I think most political parties and independents completely reject his politics, his rhetoric, his divisive approach to public debate, and I'm sure that will be reflected in in his interview with Tucker Carlson," Mr Chambers said.
As unlikely as it may now sound, Mr Carlson got his mainstream media debut on CNN where he co-hosted the show Crossfire, representing the right-wing view in the long-running programme which pitted the left against the right.
Despite thousands of hours of debate, the show’s enduring moment, however, came in 2004 when comedian Jon Stewart took Mr Carlson to task over what he referred to as Mr Carlson’s "partisan hackery".
"You’re doing theatre, when you should be doing debate," Mr Stewart said.
Twenty-one years on and Mr Carlson finds himself in Dublin to interview the UFC’s greatest showman and newfound Irish right-wing commentator, Conor McGregor.
It remains to be seen what effect the interview will have on Mr McGregor’s popularity and character rehabilitation in Ireland.
While Mr Carlson’s impact on the US political scene is unquestionable, he appears to have a lesser influence on Irish listeners.
His podcast ranks at number 29 in the Spotify charts in Ireland and number 57 on the Apple charts.
With Mr McGregor’s large global following and increased notoriety as a voice of the far right, it appears inevitable that the interview will increase and maintain Mr Carlson’s presence on the American political scene.
It seems unlikely, however, that Mr McGregor’s appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show will take him any closer to the Áras.
