The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has formally complained to the US administration about Conor McGregor's embarrassing White House visit on St Patrick's Day.
In a letter to the US Embassy, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said McGregor's meeting with US President Donald Trump "effectively normalises sexual violence and trivialises its impact on survivors".
Last year an Irish woman who accused the former mixed martial arts fighter of raping her in a Dublin hotel won a civil court action against him. A jury found McGregor had assaulted Nikita Hand and ordered him to pay more than €248,000. McGregor has lodged an appeal.
McGregor’s partner Dee Devlin, his four young children and businessman Elon Musk also joined for a photoshoot with the President.
Speaking to RTÉ, Ms Morrogh said: “Yesterday's meeting was a very sinister event and it needs to be called out for what I believe it was which on one hand was normalising sexual violence and on the other hand an attempt to rebuild the very damaged reputation of Conor McGregor.
The fighter was introduced to the media in the White House on Monday by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said she "couldn't think of a better guest to have with us on St Patrick's Day".
In its letter to the US Embassy in Dublin, the chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Rachel Morrogh, said the group "sees first hand the trauma of sexual violence on our clients".
"I believe these events undermine the efforts of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and other organisations that are working towards the elimination of sexual violence," she said.
The letter concludes by asking the embassy to "communicate these concerns to the Trump administration". The government was highly critical of McGregor's ignorant comments about immigration policies in Ireland, during his visit to the White House.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: "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."
