Detectives will probe whether the attack on the Black Forge Inn is connected to the disgraced MMA’s star’s high profile anti-immigrant stance
The suspect, who cannot be named as he is before the courts in connection with that attack, was removed from the prison under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act, by detectives from the Special Detective Unit, on Friday.
It’s understood officers identified the man from CCTV harvested from the Black Forge Inn in south Dublin from the night of the attack on July 25.
The CCTV system captured the suspect as he set fire to some cardboard and placed it at the front entrance of the pub before leaving the scene.
Firefighters at the scene after arson attack on Conor mcGregor’s Black Forge pub
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The perpetrator made no efforts to hide his identity and detectives began treating the incident as one of criminal damage.
A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said a report of a fire at a premises on the Drimnagh Road was made around 3am on Friday morning, July 25.
“Firefighters from Dolphin’s Barn were mobilised to the address and on arrival found a small fire at the front of the building,” they said.
“Using a high-pressure hose reel, one fire engine dealt with the incident and no injuries were reported.”
Detectives from the SDU are this weekend questioning the suspect in the blaze and will establish whether the attack on McGregor’s pub and a separate violent attack he carried out in the city are connected.
Detectives will also probe whether the attack on McGregor’s pub is connected to the disgraced MMA’s star’s high profile anti-immigrant stance.
McGregor has repeatedly said that he will run in this year’s presidential election and has shared strong anti-immigrant rhetoric online.
McGregor has also been criticised previously over what was labelled an Islamophobic tweets when he referred to MMA rival Khabib Nurmagomedov’s wife as a ‘towel’ in a post featuring two pictures of the Russian fighter’s wife wearing the traditional Islamic face veil.
The investigation into the attack in Walkinstown was being led by gardai from Crumlin Garda station –but in a statement gardai yesterday confirmed the matter is now being dealt with by the Special Detective Unit.
Conor McGregor
“Gardaí attached to An Garda Siochana’s Special Detective Unit have arrested a male in connection with the investigation into Criminal Damage at a licensed premises in the South Dublin area on Friday, 25th of July 2025.”
Gardai have 24 hours, not including breaks, to quiz the suspect before he must be returned to Cloverhill Prison or charged.
The July 25th incident was not the first occasion in which the Black Forge has been targeted.
McGregor bought the pub for €2m in 2020 and later spent an additional €1m on renovations.
In January 2022, the pub was targeted in a petrol bomb attack which failed to ignite, and no damage was caused in the incident.
McGregor later shared a social media post in which he offered a €50,000 reward for information on the person responsible.
In the since-deleted social media post, the fighter asked for help identifying the “little deli-chicken head” suspected of carrying out the arson.
The Black Forge Inn in Crumlin was targeted shortly before midnight on January 12, 2022, when a bottle containing an accelerant was lit and thrown at the rear of the property.
Gardaí said no significant damage was caused and no arrests were made in connection with that attack.