Conor Gallagher of the Irish Times has emailed all elected members of local authorities to ask them whether they would vote to have Conor McGregor nominated by the Council of which they are an elected member.
Good morning,
Conor Gallagher here in the Irish Times. You may have heard the news that UFC fighter Conor McGregor is planning to run in this year’s presidential election. To appear on the ballot he will require nominations from four local authorities (or 20 members of the Oireachtas).
In light of this we’re surveying all local authority members in the country to ask them a small number of questions about their attitude towards Mr McGregor’s run.
Please feel free to answer with as much or as little detail as you wish. We’d be obliged if you could respond by 4pm on Thursday. Also please indicate if you wish your response to be on or off record (i.e. can we attribute your name to your response in any articles).
- If Mr McGregor asked your local authority today for its nomination, how would you vote (yes/no/abstain)?
- Are you concerned about local representatives coming under outside pressure regarding the nomination (for example from international supporters of Mr McGregor)? If yes please elaborate.
- Have you been subject to any pressure and/or threats regarding the nomination of Mr McGregor? If yes, please elaborate.
- Is there any other comment you would like to add regarding Mr McGregor’s run for the presidency?
- Are your responses on or off record?
Thank you for talking the time to look at this. Please feel free to give me a call on [redacted] if you have any queries.
Kind regards
Conor Gallagher
The question regarding whether the Councillor was concerned about “outside pressure” including from “international supporters of Mr. McGregor” was thought highly amusing by one of the Councillors I spoke to.
Asking whether Councillors have been subject to “pressure and/or threats” to support McGregor says more about the source perhaps than the danger itself.
While the issue is clearly one that has caught the attention of the public, or the chattering members at least, it is clear that many are unaware of the process by which a person can be nominated.
The conditions are quite clear and difficult to meet. You need to be at least 35 years of age and a full citizen. The most difficult part is that a candidate requires to be nominated by 20 or more sitting members of the Dáil or Seanad, or by at least four county councils. The chances of Conor McGregor achieving this are less than Dublin winning the hurling Ireland, Shelbourne winning the Champions League or my Westie winning the Greyhound Derby.
The criteria mean in effect that the contest will be confined to members of one of the big three political parties, or if there is an agreed candidate from among the other parties of the Left and independents other than Sinn Féin.
The chances of a genuine conservative/nationalist candidate (which in my opinion excludes Mr. McGregor from the start) getting that sort of support either in Leinster House or on any council are minimal.
It is true that there have been independent candidates in the past and some who were controversial. The fact that one of them, Peter Casey, was able to run with the nomination of Kerry, Limerick, Clare and Tipperary county councils in 2018 and then secured over 23% of the vote as an unexpected and involuntary “anti-establishment” candidate frightened the life out of said establishment from left to centre right.
They will ensure that this is never going to happen in 2025 and you may be certain that all members of all establishment parties will be under strict instructions not to vote for anyone outside of one of the tents; McGregor, or anyone else.
At the very least the results of the Times survey will blow the whole thing out of the water and no harm. We need serious politics and less of this circus nonsense, and less grasping at dubious strawmen.