Conor McGregor for President?

Highly unlikely.

So, Conor McGregor wants to be the President of Ireland? If it was anyone else wanting to run, normally, I’d say, good for you! It’s a job with a lovely house, a seven-year term, and no real power—unless you count the ability to make politicians sweat by vaguely threatening to refer a bill to the Supreme Court. But before you start measuring the curtains in Áras an Uachtaráin, let’s talk about what it actually takes to get there and why McGregor won’t.

First things first, you’ve got to be at least 35 years old and an Irish citizen. If you do meet these very basic requirements, congratulations! You’ve cleared the first hurdle, which is slightly higher than the bar for getting into a nightclub but significantly lower than the bar for, say, becoming a successful business person, doctor or MMA fighter.

Here’s where it gets tricky. To get on the ballot, you’ll need the support of either:

• 20 members of the Oireachtas (that’s the Dáil and Seanad combined, Parliament and Senate for my overseas subscribers ) or

• Four local authorities (county or city councils), there are 31 in total or

• Yourself, but only if you’re a former or retiring president.

For most candidates, this means building alliances. If you’re not already embedded in the political system, you’ll need to convince those who are to take a chance on you. It’s a test of your networking skills and your ability to inspire confidence in your vision. You’ll need to charm politicians, sweet-talk councillors, and maybe even buy a round or two in the Dáil bar. No Irish politician would be stupid enough to invite McGregor into the Irish Parliament. No serious Irish politician would like to be seen in the same room as McGregor, let alone nominate him to run for President of Ireland. Of course you'll have one or two racist halfwits that'll entertain the notion. Even Ireland is not immune from the MAGA bullshit.

McGregor has 18 criminal convictions going back to 2009. More recently, a woman who accused Conor McGregor of raping her won her claim against him for damages in a civil case. A jury found that McGregor assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

Unlike in the U.S., where certain candidates with, shall we say, complicated pasts can still rally votes, Ireland’s presidential elections don’t offer much room for rapists to gain traction. The Irish presidency is a largely ceremonial role, steeped in dignity and decorum, and the electorate tends to favour candidates who embody those qualities—or at least don’t actively repel them.

The election of an Irish President is decided by a system called Single Transferable Vote (STV), which is democracy’s version of a game of musical chairs. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one meets the quota in the first round, the last-placed candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed. This continues until someone finally gets over the line.

Your goal is to be that someone. To do this and have a chance of being elected, you must be everyone’s second favourite candidate just in case you’re not their first. McGregor won’t be most Irish people’s 4th, 5th or 6th favourite candidate in an Irish Presidential election, even if he somehow manages to get on the ballot.

The office of President of Ireland is largely a ceremonial role. The presidency is a non-partisan role, so you can’t exactly nationalise the pubs or declare you’re going to deport immigrants, an Irish President simply does not have the constutional power to do so. Instead, the President is usually reduced to talking about the need for “unity,” “hope,” and “the spirit of Ireland” without accidentally offending anyone. Your job will involve cutting ribbons, giving speeches, and occasionally signing laws while trying not to spill tea on them.

Becoming President of Ireland is a strange and wonderful ambition. It’s a job that requires equal parts charm, patience, and the ability to smile through interminable public events. Conor McGregor possesses none of these abilities. He’s a man who once punched an elderly gentleman in a pub for refusing to drink his whiskey. He’d probably want to go around punching people for not voting for him. This is exactly why no serious Irish politician will nominate him to be president.

Why am I talking about Conor McGregor as a potential candidate in an Irish Presidential election? McGregor was a guest of Trump in the Oval Office on St Patricks Day. As soon as McGregor left the Oval the internet’s darkest corners—MAGA diehards, far-right keyboard warriors, and pro-Russian trolls began peddling the idea of McGregor as a potential candidate for the Irish presidency.

These same social media platforms that brought us flat Earth theories and QAnon are now pushing the narrative that McGregor will be Ireland’s next president. It’s a story as absurd as it is deeply worrying. But in 2025, political absurdities are the new normal.

In the age of Trump, Brexit, and Boris Johnson, the bar for political leadership has sunk so low it’s practically scraping the floor. Conor McGregor will not become Ireland’s next president—thankfully, even we have our limits—but that doesn’t mean he won’t end up in some other elected office. After all, if the last decade has taught us anything, it’s that fame, a loud mouth, and a knack for spectacle can take you far in politics.