Local councillors are bracing for an onslaught of pressure to support mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor as he prepares a run for the Irish presidency.
Many representatives fear being subjected to an unprecedented online campaign led by McGregor’s US supporters, including prominent supporters of Donald Trump’s administration and billionaire Elon Musk, to nominate the fighter, a survey carried out by The Irish Times of the country’s local authorities has indicated.
At least one council has convened a meeting to discuss how to respond if McGregor seeks its nomination.
McGregor, who a High Court civil jury last year found raped Dublin woman Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in 2018, faces an uphill battle to get on the ballot paper in this year’s election to replace President Michael D Higgins. He will require the nomination of 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.
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[ Survey of councillors shows no support for Conor McGregor presidential runOpens in new window ]
The 36-year-old has not publicly stated what route he intends to take, but the local authority process has been the most viable option for outsider presidential candidates in recent elections.
This week, The Irish Times contacted each of the 949 members of the 31 local authorities by email seeking their views on a McGregor candidacy. Of those, 188 responded, about one in five.
All but one said they would vote no if McGregor sought a nomination from their local authority. Some went even further. “I would vote no and would campaign to ensure that every other member of the local authority voted no. He should forget about it,” independent Dublin city councillor John Lyons said.
I am disgusted even at the thought of it and I think most people are
— Ellen Troy, an Aontú councillor
The one exception was Dónal Gilroy, Fianna Fáil representative on Sligo County Council, who said it was too early to say how he would vote. “Like all candidates I would listen to his arguments and decide then. This would depend on who else was looking for our nomination on the day,” he said.
In their opposition, councillors cited the verdict in last year’s civil rape case, McGregor’s apparent ignorance of the president’s constitutional role and his increasingly far-right and anti-immigration views.
The three largest parties in the State – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin – all appear likely to run candidates, which means their councillors will be unlikely to support any independent candidate’s nomination.
This would leave McGregor seeking support from independents or members of smaller parties, particularly those who may share some of views on immigration.
However, councillors from across the political spectrum said they would not support his nomination.
“I am disgusted even at the thought of it and I think most people are,” Ellen Troy, an Aontú representative on Fingal County Council, said.
South Dublin county councillor Linda de Courcy, a member of Independent Ireland, which has called for more restrictions on immigration, said she would not vote for McGregor primarily due to the verdict in last year’s civil rape case.
Councillors expressed concern that local authority members would come under external pressure, including social media campaigns, to nominate McGregor.
Jerome Scanlan, independent councillor in Limerick, is one of several representatives who said they were “extremely concerned” about potential “external interference” promoting McGregor in his bid to secure the nomination.
Labour representative John Walsh, who sits on Fingal Council, said there was “genuine concern” about the issue.
“Not least because the vast majority of support that I have seen for Conor McGregor comes from people outside Ireland and is led by right-wing cheerleaders in the Trump administration who have a strong online presence, but are spectacularly ignorant about Ireland,” he said.
Others were less concerned, however. “As the fellah says, pressure is for tyres,” Paul Mulville, Social Democrats councillor for Fingal, said.
As evidenced by McGregor’s recent St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House, he enjoys strong support from the Trump administration. He has already promised to leverage this backing to influence Irish Government policy on immigration.
One of the first prominent people to encourage him to run for the presidency was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a key Trump adviser.
Mr Musk regularly boosts far-right parties in other countries. He campaigned for the far-right AfD in the most recent German federal elections and has reportedly promised to provide financial backing to Nigel Farage’s Reform party in the UK.
Many councillors said that while they expected external interventions regarding Mr McGregor’s nomination, it would have no impact on their vote.
“I am concerned to an extent, mainly because we have seen a rise in the number of councillors from right-wing groups being elected. However, the vast majority of elected members ... would not bow to any kind of external pressure,” said Labour’s Rupert Heather, who sits on Kildare County Council.
Many councillors said McGregor had no chance of being nominated, a view shared by most political observers.
However, some expressed fear the outspoken fighter will use his bid for a nomination to promote his political agenda and potentially turn the process into a political circus.
On Thursday, Dublin City Council’s protocol committee met to discuss its approach should McGregor seek its backing, independent councillor Mannix Flynn said.
Councillor Flynn said he put forward a proposal, which was accepted, that anyone seeking a nomination will have to abide by a “code of conduct” and show respect for the council and the presidency.
“I believe what we have here is a recipe for disaster and the undermining of the offices of the local authority and, even more, the office of the President,” he said.
Kerry councillor Fionnán Fitzgerald, of Fianna Fáil, said he believed a false narrative would emerge that the “establishment” denied McGregor his right as an Irish citizen to run for the presidency.
“I sense that every effort would be made to gather energy around that ... and this would then be used to divide the people of Ireland into two groups: those who support his nomination to run for presidency and those who do not,” he said.
“This to me is the classic stroke of the populist agenda seeking to infiltrate politics worldwide.”
