Cllr Philip Sutcliffe resigned from his political party following previous backlash for supporting the former MMA star
Philip Sutcliffe, an independent councillor for Dublin City Council, issued an apology at their monthly meeting last night.
The written statement was read by the Lord Mayor of Dublin into the meeting’s record.
In his address, Cllr Sutcliffe said he believed the content of the post shared was “absolutely disgusting and completely unacceptable”.
Cllr Philip Sutcliffe
News in 90 Seconds – Tuesday, November 4
“I want to apologise for the post that appeared on my social media on polling day.
“The post had been forwarded to me and I was also tagged in it, and it was accidentally shared on my accounts. I wasn’t aware it had gone up on my social media account.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that the image was not my ballot paper and the content of that post was absolutely disgusting and completely unacceptable. I would never share anything like that,” the statement continued.
“I take full responsibility for what happened and I’m very sorry for any offence or confusion caused. It was an honest mistake and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The former boxing coach, also issued a statement about the incident on social media.
He said the photograph, which showed a spoiled vote, with racist and anti-LGBTQI+ comments, as well as derogatory comments about the presidential election candidates.
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McGregor and his entourage arrive at the High Court
“I want to address a post that has been circulating since Friday.
“I was tagged in a post, and it was accidentally shared across my social media accounts. I’m not very familiar with how social media works, and my daughter helps to manage my pages,” he said.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that the image was not my ballot paper.”
He added that it was “an honest mistake” and reiterated that he would “make sure something like that doesn’t happen again.”
“I understand how upsetting the post was, and I apologise for any offence or confusion it caused.”
Philip Sutcliffe was elected to Dublin City Council in 2024 as a representative for the Ballyfermot–Drimnagh area.
He was formerly a member of Independent Ireland, but resigned from the party a day after he supported Conor McGregor in court for the verdict of his civil rape trial.
The former MMA star was found liable for the rape of a woman at a Dublin hotel in 2018.
The party said that following a meeting with a senior party official, Sutcliffe tendered his resignation to the party’s leadership.
The councillor faced backlash for his appearance in court alongside McGregor. He sat between Dee Devlin and James Lawrence as he joined his entourage in the courtroom to hear the verdict read out.
Sutcliffe was also photographed accompanying McGregor into court alongside Dee, McGregor’s mother Margaret, sister Aoife, father Tony and other family members.