Controversial councillor Paddy Holohan leaves Sinn Féin 

Paddy Holohan: The ex-UFC star was suspended from the party in January 2020 after it emerged he had made comments regarding the alleged use of sexual extortion by women on his podcast. Picture: Sportsfile

Controversial councillor Paddy Holohan is no longer a member of Sinn Féin.

The former UFC fighter was elected in the Tallaght area of Dublin in 2019 to represent the party but has been mired in controversy for over a year. 

The party confirmed on Friday that he had not renewed his membership and would no longer represent the party on South Dublin County Council.

The ex-UFC star was suspended from the party in January 2020 after it emerged he had made comments regarding the alleged use of sexual extortion by women on his podcast.

Those comments followed other remarks Mr Holohan made about Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's Irish heritage and the fact that he, in Mr Holohan’s opinion, does not represent a “family man”.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald had declared herself "shocked and deeply disappointed" by Mr Holohan's comments on his No Shame podcast, where he had claimed underage girls were extorting men for money.

"There is some f****** scum women out there as well.

“And I just want to say to you, there’s a situation that I heard during the week… somebody was underage, the person didn’t know they were underage, the girl pursued the guy.

“Got whatever she needed, had pictures, had videos, and then said ‘I want 10 grand’."

Disciplinary action

He was reinstated in June, but further disciplinary action would follow last month as he said the owner of a beauty salon who opened in defiance of Covid regulations was "an inspiration".

A spokesperson said Mr Holohan had "chosen not to renew his membership". It is understood he will remain a councillor.