Freemasons donate to charity after Tucker Carlson interview

The Freemasons of Ireland will make a €2,500 (£2,130) donation to charity after its premises in Dublin were used for “grossly inappropriate purposes” when rented out for an interview between Conor McGregor and US commentator Tucker Carlson.

The 55-minute interview between the former Fox News host and the MMA fighter has amassed over 1.4 million views since being posted to Carlson’s YouTube channel last Friday.

It featured discussion about McGregor’s intention to run for the Irish presidency, immigration and Donald Trump.

The Freemasons subsequently apologised and said the booking would have not been accepted if it had known what the venue was being used for.

Now, the organisation has decided it will make an anonymous donation of €2,500 to “an appropriate non-political charity” and investigate the use of the Grand Lodge Room, as reported by the Irish Independent.

The Freemasons’ grand master elect told members in an email that the interview had caused “incalculable” damage and that the venue had been used for “grossly inappropriate purposes”.

“The Grand Lodge of Ireland does not comment on any political matter and so regrets letting our premises facilitate any political discussion,” Richard S G Ensor wrote.

“I look for your support to get us over this unpleasant time and steer us back on the right path.

“I am personally abhorred at what has taken place and extend my personal apology to our members, family and friends.”

Earlier this week, the grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland, Philip Daley, told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that they regularly take bookings from media organisations but “insist” on knowing the interviewer, guests and topics of discussion to ensure this aligns with the organisation’s “morals and principles”.

However, he said in the case of McGregor and Carlson, the information was only received an hour before the interview.

The organisation decided to “let it go” as the media company assured all backgrounds would be blurred and no reference would be made to the Freemasons’ Hall.

“In hindsight we’re not happy with that decision, I mean, look, we made a mistake, put my hands up, fully admit that,” Mr Daley added.

In the almost hour-long interview, the pair discussed the Irish economy, the government and McGregor’s announcement that he intends to run for the Irish presidency.

McGregor said he wanted “a democratic process” to play out in advance of the presidential election and that the era of the politician had been “unfruitful” and should come to an end.

They also spoke about immigration, Donald Trump, US Tariffs and the housing crisis.

McGregor praised President Trump as someone who did not lead “at the behest of the party”.