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SINCE CONOR MCGREGOR made a surprise appearance at the White House on St Patrick’s Day, speculation has intensified about how serious the former UFC fighter is about a run for the Irish presidency.
McGregor, who in a civil case last year was found to have sexually assaulted a woman in 2018, has promised to “free” Ireland and “fix” the constitution.
On 20 March, McGregor posted on X saying, “Ireland, the choice is yours and it is an easy one. Vote for me as your President and we will SAVE IRELAND TOGETHER!”
Surveys of politicians, while not comprehensive, have shown a widespread antipathy towards nominating him as a presidential candidate.
This has led some McGregor supporters to claim that politicians are attempting to “block” his candidacy.
Sharing a screenshot of a Journal article about members of the Oireachtas saying they would not nominate McGregor, one X user wrote:
“BREAKING: The Irish Parliament is planning to BLOCK Conor McGregor from running in Ireland’s upcoming Presidential Election due to his anti-immigration views. This is horrific. The Irish people cannot stand for this.”
🇮🇪 BREAKING: The Irish Parliament is planning to BLOCK Conor McGregor from running in Ireland’s upcoming Presidential Election due to his anti-immigration views.
— Cillian (@CilComLFC) March 30, 2025
This is horrific.
The Irish people cannot stand for this. pic.twitter.com/riHfXihneS
That post received 37,000 likes on X and was reposted 12,000 times.
The claim that McGregor is being “blocked” by members of the Oireachtas shows a lack of understanding of how presidential nominations work in Ireland.
Securing nominations from elected politicians is part of the process of getting on the ballot. This applies to all prospective candidates other than sitting and former presidents.
So, how do candidates enter the race for the presidency?
Presidential elections are held every seven years (unless a sitting president dies, retires or is incapacitated) and the next election is scheduled to take place in the 60 days leading up to and including 11 November 2025.
There are three ways to become a candidate in an Irish presidential race:
In the case of local authorities, each authority must vote to nominate a candidate.
In 2018, controversial former journalist Gemma O’Doherty secured the backing of Laois County Council but did not win nominations from any others and failed in her bid to get on the ballot.
A candidate must be an Irish citizen aged 35 or older.
Once these requirements are met, a candidate can get their name on the ballot.
Political parties generally select their own preferred candidates. Parties dominate local councils and therefore have significant influence, but not necessarily a veto, on whether their councillors vote to nominate someone.
Other restrictions are in place when it comes to campaign financing.
The campaign spending limit in presidential elections is €750,000.
If a candidate is elected, or gets more than 25% of the quota in proportional representation voting, they can be reimbursed up to €200,000 by the State.
There are strict limits on the value of donations candidates can receive and each candidate’s election electoral agent must report the details of donations to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO).
All donations received by a candidate exceeding €600 must be disclosed in a donation statement and the maximum donation that a candidate can accept in a particular year from an individual or corporate donor is €1,000.
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