Taoiseach: Conor McGregor 'a worthy winner of the Sports Personality of the Year'

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has paid tribute to Conor McGregor, and appears to have waded into a row about McGregor being stripped of a title.

The Crumlin fighter has been formally stripped of his UFC featherweight title due to inactivity in that division.

However, he still considers himself to be a two-weight champion, having also claimed the lightweight belt last month.

Enda Kenny says McGregor was a worthy winner in RTE's recent Sportsperson awards.

The Taoiseach said: "Conor McGregor is a fabulous athlete, he's a no-nonsense man obviously and he's a worthy winner of the Sports Personality of the Year.

"Sometimes when you see the fights in the cage, you might say it's brought boxing, or fighting, to a new dimension here, but McGregor is a world superstar and he's top of that particular category, or two categories, at the moment."