Not one of 134 Irish politicians who replied to a Sky News survey would support Conor McGregor’s ambition to become the country’s president.
Comments ranged from “not a hope in hell” to “I could not think of anyone more unfit” and “I would genuinely rather we didn’t have a president at all”.
The former MMA champion, who is appealing a civil case in which a jury found that he raped a woman, needs significant backing before he would be allowed to stand.
McGregor praises Trump and hits out at Irish PM
McGregor used a St Patrick’s Day meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office to further his aim to run in the election, which must be held by November.
Days later he formally announced on social media he would seek election and stand on an anti-immigration platform.
Candidates must garner the support of 20 Oireachtas (parliament) members, or the backing of four of Ireland’s local authorities in order to stand.
There are 234 Oireachtas members: 174 TDs or members of the lower house, the Dail, and 60 senators.
Sky News asked each one if they would give McGregor a nomination. A total of 104 TDs and 30 senators replied.
Every one of the 134 politicians said they would not support McGregor running. None chose the “maybe” option.
Read more: Why McGregor has ‘close to zero chance’ of becoming Ireland’s next president
‘Ireland and America are siblings’
Sky News has approached McGregor’s representative for comment on our findings. None has yet been received.
If McGregor chooses to pursue the council route to a nomination, he may not find it much easier, according to Gary Murphy, professor of politics at Dublin City University.
“The difficulty there is they are also dominated by the political parties. And so I think he would find this extremely difficult to actually get on the ballot.
“Now there is a big independent vote in Ireland, and maybe McGregor is targeting that, but the problem with that independent vote here in Ireland is that it’s very left wing and he’s not.”
McGregor is currently appealing the result of a civil case in which a Dublin jury found he had raped a woman, Nikita Hand, in 2018 and ordered him to pay her damages. He also faces a civil case in Florida, where a woman claims he sexually assaulted her at a basketball game in Miami in 2023. His legal team says the allegation is “false”.
