Independent Ireland general election candidate Cllr Philip Sutcliffe has quit the party, it has emerged.
Limerick TD Richard O’Donoghue, a co-founder of Independent Ireland, said there was a meeting of the party executive last night.
“Philip was approached. There was to be a further meeting today. Before the second meeting could take place Philip resigned from the party,” he said.
He said the reason was because “Philip does a lot of great work with people in boxing but we do not condone his association with Conor McGregor. It was also reported that he said he wanted to meet Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch, and we don’t stand for that either. We work for law and order.”
Election 2024: Who will be in next government? Test the options using our coalition builder tool
Eamon Ryan: ‘If Labour and Soc Dems were ambitious on climate, they’d be going into government’
‘Not inevitable’ Independents will be in new government, say Social Democrats
Care services for most vulnerable not good enough, says Simon Harris
[ ‘I know what happened in that room’: the full story of the Conor McGregor caseOpens in new window ]
Mr Sutcliffe is a candidate in the Dublin South Central constituency. He has been contacted for comment.
It is understood that Mr Sutcliffe will continue in politics as a non-party representative. It is expected he will continue his general election campaign and if elected will take up a seat in Dáil Éireann as a non-party TD.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
- Sign up to our Inside Politics newsletter to get the behind-the-scenes take direct to your inbox