{"id":123221,"date":"2025-09-06T13:16:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T13:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123221\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T13:16:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T13:16:07","slug":"conor-mcgregor-asks-for-help-in-bid-to-be-president-of-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123221\/","title":{"rendered":"Conor McGregor asks for help in bid to be president of Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Irish fighter Conor McGregor visits White House on St. Patrick\u2019s Day<\/p>\n

UFC fighter Conor McGregor met with President Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day to raise issues he says people of Ireland face.<\/p>\n

Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor is seeking to run for president of Ireland but has not yet met the eligibility requirements.He is running on an anti-immigration and populist platform, urging his supporters to contact their local officials for a nomination.McGregor’s candidacy is considered a longshot due to his lack of party affiliation and a history of legal issues, including a recent civil lawsuit finding him liable for sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor<\/a> still wants to be the next president of Ireland, but his bid faces a significant hurdle at the moment. The controversial UFC fighter-turned-politician isn’t eligible to be on the ballot yet and a deadline is approaching this month.<\/p>\n

McGregor took to social media on Tuesday, Sept. 4,<\/a>\u00a0with a video filmed outside the gates of Irish government buildings in Dublin, Ireland, reasserting his anti-immigration and populist stances against the country’s current regime, as well as plans to address a rise in child homelessness in Ireland if elected as president. But it was accompanied by a written message urging McGregor’s Irish supporters “to contact your local county councillors today and ask them to nominate me.”<\/p>\n

An Irish citizen must be 35 years or older and nominated by at least 20 members of the Oireachtas (Ireland’s version of parliament) or at least four local authorities to be included on the presidential ballot, according to the country’s election laws<\/a>. McGregor’s message on Tuesday represented a change in tone from a social media post on August 27<\/a> in which he wrote, “I have it secured,” in reference to the requirements to be on the ballot.<\/p>\n

UFC: Could Conor McGregor compete on White House fight card in 2026?<\/a><\/p>\n

“Our councillors are the backbone of our communities. They work harder and deliver more for the people than those in the Oireachtas, who continue to fail this country time and again,” McGregor wrote on Tuesday. “If you are a councillor who feels your voice is ignored, your hands tied, and your community overlooked, then I ask you to stand with me. Nominate me, and I will give you the platform and power to be truly heard.”<\/p>\n

McGregor initially announced his plans to run for president of Ireland in March<\/a>, a few days after a White House visit with United States President Donald Trump on St. Patrick’s Day<\/a>. Ireland’s presidential election is set to be held on October 24, with McGregor needing to receive the required support to be on the ballot by September 24, according to the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McGregor referred to himself as “a master of martial arts, a solution-driven man,” in Tuesday’s video, but his candidacy is seen as a longshot<\/a> because of his lack of party affiliation and a checkered past related to sexual assault allegations and violent behavior outside of UFC’s octagon while becoming one of the company’s most decorated, popular and polarizing fighters.<\/p>\n

Citizens of Ireland, the time for real change is now!<\/p>\n

As President, I will not sign any bill in law until it goes back to the people first!<\/p>\n

If you want to see my name on the ballot for the Presidency, I urge you to contact your local county councillors today and ask them to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/LGDCSGN9vr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

McGregor was found liable<\/a> by a jury in Dublin and ordered to pay nearly 250,000 Euros in December 2024 after Nikita Hand filed a lawsuit alleging McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, had sex with her without her consent in 2018. McGregor was also sued last January by a woman who alleged McGregor sexually assaulted her after Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets at the Kaseya Center in Miami.<\/p>\n

Previously, he pleaded guilty to assault over a 2019 incident in which he punched an elderly man during an argument inside a Dublin bar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McGregor became one of the UFC’s biggest attractions beginning in 2008, and the first fighter to hold UFC championships in multiple divisions simultaneously. He owns a 22-6 career record. His last professional match occurred in 2021.<\/p>\n