The Freemasons of Ireland are to donate the money they were paid for hosting an interview between Conor McGregor and Tucker Carlson to charity.
Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland Philip Daley said that it was a "mistake" to allow the interview to take place at the Freemasons’ Hall on Molesworth Street in Dublin.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Mr Daley said procedures have been put in place to ensure that it cannot happen again.
The venue was rented by a US media company last week, but the Freemasons say the organisation was not aware of the participants until "the last minute".
Mr Daley said the Freemasons regularly take bookings from media organisations for the use of their premises, but "always insist on knowing before it takes place, who the interviewer and interviewee are, and what the content is to make sure that it sits with our organisation’s morals and principles".
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However, in this case, he said they only received that information "at the last moment", about an hour before the interview was conducted.
"When it came to my attention, I then debated with some of my colleagues. Would we cancel it or would we let it go ahead? And we decided in our wisdom that we just let it go," Mr Daley said.
Asked why he decided to allow the interview to proceed, he said it was because they got an assurance from the media company that all of the backgrounds would be blurred and that there would be no reference to the Freemasons' Hall.
Mr Daley said they were also concerned there would be "a backlash of some description" if they stopped the interview from going ahead.
"In hindsight we're not happy with that decision, I mean, look, we made a mistake, put my hands up, fully admit that."
He said under no circumstances would his organisation have taken the booking if they had known who was involved from the outset
"I would not be a fan of Mr McGregor under any circumstances," he said.
Mr Daley said the fee paid for the use of the premises was between €1,000 and €2,000 and this would now be donated to a suitable charity.
When asked who would receive the money, he said a decision would be taken by the board of directors which runs the Freemasons' Hall.
He also said no media booking will be accepted in the future unless full details are provided in advance.
"It will not be let drift," he said.
The interview has amassed more than a million views on YouTube since it was broadcast on Friday evening.
He was not asked about being found civilly liable in the High Court for the rape of Nikita Hand at a Dublin Hotel in 2018, or about his string of court convictions, mostly for traffic offences.
