Irish pubs and shops drop Conor McGregor’s drinks

After Conor McGregor was found guilty of sexual assault last week, pubs and supermarkets across Ireland have announced that they will no longer stock the MMA fighter’s stout and whiskey brands.

On Friday 22 November, Nikita Hand won €248,000 (£206,000) in damages after taking McGregor to court on the charge of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. McGregor has said that he will appeal the verdict.

Cliona Saidlear, executive director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland, called for a boycott of products associated with McGregor: ““The companies making money from his alcohol and other products need to look at whether they want to align themselves with a man found by a civil jury to have sexually assaulted a woman.”

“They need to stop promoting him and distance themselves,” Saidlear continued. “€250,000 won’t dent his finances, but the public can play a role here in expressing disapproval for anyone that tries make money with a man who engaged in that despicable behaviour.”

McGregor founded the Forged Irish Stout and Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey brands. While he still owns the former, the latter was acquired by Proximo Spirits, which also owns the likes of Bushmills, Cuervo and The Kraken, in 2021 in a deal believed to have been worth around US$600 million. McGregor remained a stakeholder in the brand, and was extensively used in its marketing.

In the aftermath of the trial, various businesses are now cutting ties with brands associated with McGregor.

Among those to drop McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout brand is value pub chain Wetherspoons, which has announced that it will cease to serve the beer at all seven of its Republic of Ireland locations, according to a report from The Irish Independent.

DAA, which operates Dublin and Cork airports, revealed that it will no longer serve Forged Irish Stout and Proper No. Twelve at its bars, though the brands were never stocked at these airports’ duty free shops.

In the off-trade, a number of retailers have stopped selling drinks associated with McGregor. These include Tesco, which is removing Proper No. Twelve from its stores in Ireland and the UK (it does not stock Forged Irish Stout), BWG Foods (which oversees 1,000 stores in Ireland, including the Spar, Londis and BWG Wines & Spirits brands), and Musgrave (which includes the likes of SuperValu and Centra).

Proximo Spirits is also severing its connection with the Crumlin-born fighter, saying in a statement: “Since 2021, Proximo Spirits has been the 100% owner of Proper No Twelve Irish Whiskey. Going forward, we do not plan to use Mr McGregor’s name and likeness in the marketing of the brand.”

db has reached out to Proximo Spirits and Forged Irish Stout for further comment.

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