“I didn’t go there for that purpose, for the hair transplants. I needed a break. I was really tired from all the work I had been doing”
The Dubliner, who campaigned on an anti-illegal immigration platform, sported the new look in a video he posted on X where he extolled the virtues of the country he was visiting.
“I’m here in Turkey, and as you can see the beaches are packed, the restaurants are packed, tourism is booming and it is safe,” he shared. “The Irish Government, and the reason why I’m doing this video is, are scaring people and telling them not to go to Spain and Turkey because of a terror threat.”
Pepper revealed his new look on X
The video quickly gained traction on social media where Cllr Pepper was slammed for spending “money on luxury holidays, new hair and new teeth,” according to one comment.
Others questioned his commitment to his new job as a public representative, with one critic writing: “Missing another council meeting after getting elected. You’re already letting the people of Ballymun and Finglas down after talking so much about helping everyone.”
However, Cllr Pepper, who was named as a ‘far-right agitator’ in the Dáil by TD Paul Murphy, told the Sunday World he didn’t care what the “usual far-left extremists” were saying about him.
“I laugh at them, these people are clowns,” he said. “I honestly don’t take these people seriously.
“I was in Turkey, but I’m home now and in Mullingar at a council training meeting.
Pepper said he didn’t travel to Turkey specifically for the hair transplants
“And the reason why I did that video was because we were being told there was a terror alert in Turkey and people were afraid to go on holidays. And there I was, on the beach and it was lovely and it was safe.
“And while I was there, I did get my hair done,” he confirmed. “I didn’t go there for that purpose, for the hair transplants. I needed a break. I was really tired from all the work I had been doing.
“And, I just want to add, my attendance [at Dublin City Council] has been one hundred per cent. I’ve been at every council meeting and I did them on Zoom while I was in Turkey.
“Nobody comments on the fact that there other left-wing politicians at those meetings who were also on Zoom. And I spoke at every one of these meetings.
“And not only that, when I spoke I turned my camera on, so they could see me.”
Asked if he had any other work done while he was in Turkey, Cllr Pepper said he hadn’t, as the hair transplant was “painful”.
“You have to roll a towel up and put it on your pillow case and lie back on your neck on it,” he explained, “and stay like that, at a 45-degree angle, for 10 days.
“If you’ve ever had a fly land on your arm, well, it’s like that constantly on your head after the pain wears off.”
Gavin Pepper is hoisted by Hermann Kelly, left, of the Irish Freedom Party
Even though the operation itself had taken ten hours, Cllr Pepper said he didn’t mind the discomfort as he had been becoming more conscious of his hair loss for a long time.
“It’s actually been going on for ten years and I never really got slagged over it,” he said. “But I’d always thought it was something that I could get done. I was there [in Turkey], they do it there, and I was like, why not?
“But I don’t care what people say, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Cllr Pepper again insisted that he had attended all his council meetings and stressed he was only “new to the job”.
“I’m still learning, I’m here at a training thing in Mullingar. It takes time. I know that not everybody agrees with my ways and that’s fair enough,” he said.
“I just want people to know that if they want to go on holiday, not be too worried about it.
“And also, for anyone who is self-conscious, they shouldn’t be. Don’t worry about what people say, if you want to go and get something done, go and get it done.”
Cllr Pepper has received support from the far-right over his ‘Ireland is full’ stance on immigration.
The taxi driver, who was arrested over — but denied any involvement in — an arson attack on the Sandwith Street immigrant encampment, had previously been forced to deny he is a ‘three-house’ landlord after being confronted over a series of posts on an old Twitter account.
Mr Pepper posted a video stating: “Everyone is saying I’m a landlord witch (sic) I’m not, so I went to the man who spreads the lies, Paul Murphy, and called him out to his face.”
The video then shows Mr Pepper accosting Mr Murphy as the politician was entering the High Court seeking to have quashed a decision not to investigate Leo Varadkar for leaking a GP contract.
