Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has said he is no longer seeking to run in next month’s Irish presidential election.
His announcement on Monday came hours before he was due to address meetings of Dublin City Council and Kildare County Council, where he was seeking to secure the nominations needed for his name to be on the ballot.
In a post on social media, McGregor said the decision to withdraw his name had come “following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family”.
Ireland will head to the polls on 24 October, with three candidates so far having secured the backing needed from Irish lawmakers or local authorities to stand in the race.
Presidential hopefuls must be an Irish citizen aged 35 or older, and require the endorsement of at least 20 members of the Irish parliament, the Oireachtas, or four out of Ireland’s 31 local authorities.
McGregor, a former champion fighter who has not competed professionally since July 2021, said: “This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time.”
The 37-year-old, who first vowed to run for the presidency last year, said he was “truly humbled” by the “support and encouragement” he received.
He said the election’s eligibility rules were a “straitjacket” that prevented “a true democratic presidential election being contested”.
For months, McGregor had been sharing posts with his millions of followers on social media about his ambition to be president of Ireland.
He posted a video asking people to lobby councillors to nominate him to run but did not put himself forward to speak at the first councils to hear presentations from would-be candidates, which led commentators to question how serious he really was about fully entering the race.
McGregor did appear on a list of prospective runners to appear before Dublin and Kildare County Councils on Monday, but his withdrawal came before he had to put his case in a forum where he could be questioned.
Earlier this year, McGregor lost a civil jury appeal against a finding that he had sexually assaulted a woman, which he denied.
Nikita Hand accused McGregor of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. In November 2024, she won her claim against him for damages in a civil case.
McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Ms Hand.
The vast majority of politicians in Ireland who commented on McGregor’s potential candidacy said he was unfit for the office and was unlikely to secure a place on the ballot paper, many drawing attention to his legal cases.
Prospective presidential candidates have until 24 September to secure the backing needed to make it onto the ballot, with three so far having done so.
Catherine Connolly is an independent who is backed by some left-wing parties – Labour, the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit.
Jim Gavin has been selected by Fianna Fáil, which is the largest party in the Irish parliament and led by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Heather Humphreys is the candidate for Fine Gael, a centre-right party which is currently in coalition government with Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin has said it will announce whether it is running a candidate on 20 September. It is the main opposition party in Dublin and the largest party at all levels of politics in Northern Ireland.
