Conor McGregor, a renowned Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) combatant, has narrowly dodged a prison sentence following a series of perilous driving antics in Dublin, which involved running a red light, recklessly weaving through traffic, and almost causing an accident. McGregor was finally pulled over by a police officer who had to drive at breakneck speeds of 160 km/h to catch up with him and his Bentley Continental GT on March 22nd, 2022. McGregor reacted incredulously when asked to exit his vehicle, asking the officer if this was some sort of joke.
At the Blanchardstown District Court, Judge David McHugh lambasted McGregor for his flagrant repeated disregard of road safety laws and dangerous driving. McGregor was issued a five-month sentence, which was suspended provided he commits no violations for two years, and was fined €5,000. His driving privileges were also revoked for a similar period.
Initially, the 36-year-old fighter faced charges that included two counts of dangerous driving at the N4/M50 interchange in Palmerstown and Lucan Road, not having insurance, not possessing a driver’s license and failing to present his documents within the legally required 10-day period. He was later charged with a lesser offence, careless driving. State solicitor Ruth Walsh confirmed that his documents were in order and had been produced, thus leading to the withdrawal of charges related to insurance, license and one dangerous driving charge at Lucan Road. McGregor’s counsel David Staunton stated to the court that his client pleaded guilty to the remaining two offenses.
Officer Dennis Lorden disclosed to the court that he noticed McGregor’s vehicle speeding in a 24-hour bus lane while he was stopped at traffic lights on Lucan Road. McGregor failed to heed the red light and zoomed past. The officer activated his sirens and followed McGregor, who veered into the road, causing another vehicle to halt abruptly to avoid collision. Lorden shared, “I was travelling in excess of 160km/h trying to catch this vehicle.”
The police officer explained that he attempted to halt McGregor on the M50, but McGregor initially declined to yield. Once he did come to a halt, Garda Lorden stated that McGregor required multiple prompts, six or seven to be precise, to exit his vehicle. Despite refusing to unlatch his car door, the officer eventually managed to reach in, open it, and McGregor finally stepped out, leading to his arrest. The officer concurred with Mr Stanton’s opinion of McGregor being compliant once transported to the police station and tests revealing no presence of intoxicants in his system.
McGregor’s criminal history includes 20 past convictions, amongst which 17 were traffic violations, two were public order charges, and one was a charge for inflicting injury, all between the years 2011 and 2019. Judge McHugh observed these convictions as considerably significant. Mr Stanton indicated that McGregor recognised the risk his actions could pose to others as well as himself.
The judge characterised McGregor’s driving behaviour on the eventful day as calculated, enduring, and determined whilst expressing that McGregor showed regret in retrospect. While accepting McGregor’s guilty plea as a mitigating factor, the judge decided that the situation warranted a suspended sentence, albeit barely.