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CONOR MCGREGOR IS expected to speak at a special meeting of Dublin City Council on Monday to seek a nomination for the presidency.
The meeting is being held to allow would-be candidates pitch to councillors who can then hold a vote on whether to nominate a candidate.
Presidential hopefuls using the ‘council route’ need a nomination from four separate local authorities to get on the ballot for the 24 October presidential election.
Dublin City Council is holding a special meeting to consider nominations on 15 September in City Hall.
This afternoon, 14 candidates have confirmed their eligibility to attend the meeting, with McGregor among them.
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council previously told The Journal that it had received correspondence from McGregor seeking a nomination.
In a letter to councillors, McGregor asked for support “in helping secure my nomination so that the Irish people may be given a real choice – one that is not confined to candidates from the traditional political establishment.”
Elsewhere in the letter, he claimed that the purpose of his presidential campaign is to “give power back to the people of Ireland” and to “represent Ireland’s citizens independently.”
Documentation was required for speakers to confirm their eligibility and this was subsequently submitted by McGregor.
In an email sent to councillors today, they were informed that 14 candidates have confirmed their eligibility to attend Monday’s meeting.
Twelve of those listed, including McGregor, have said they expect to attend in person, while two will be considered in their absence.
The 14 names are as follows:
Dublin City Council held an “open nomination process” in which all eligible candidates were invited to address the council.
Candidates will be allocated a maximum of five minutes each for their submission. There will be an opportunity for a question-and-answer session for a maximum of five minutes for each candidate.
The council also states there those speaking must comply with a code of conduct and that Lord Mayor Ray McAdam “may revoke speaking privileges to any candidate who violates the Code of Conduct.”
Protests
Earlier this year, former MMA fighter McGregor lost his appeal against a civil jury’s finding in favour of Dublin woman Nikita Hand, who accused him of rape.
Hand successfully sued McGregor in a civil court over an incident in which he was alleged to have “brutally raped and battered” her in a penthouse at a south Dublin hotel in December 2018.
Hand was awarded almost €250,000 in damages and McGregor was also ordered to pay about €1.3 million in legal costs following the November trial.
Socialist feminist group Rosa has said it will hold a protest outside City Hall on Monday “to drown out his pathetic appeal and ensure that not one sitting councillor gives him their nomination.”
Speaking to The Journal, Independent Councillor John Lyons said that McGregor was “not fit to be president”, citing the finding of the civil jury and McGregor’s conviction for assaulting a man at a Dublin pub.
“Instead, there are hundreds if not thousands of men and women right across Dublin, right across Ireland, who have been busy working, volunteering, trying to make Dublin as a city and Ireland as country a better place for young and old people alike,” Lyon said.
“McGregor does not represent any of that. He’s no kind of a role model, and he shouldn’t be anywhere near the presidential election campaign.”
Other councils
Unlike Dublin City Council Fingal County Council has stipulated that all candidates must be sponsored by four councillors before being allowed to address the meeting.
Fingal is holding its special meeting tomorrow. Asked about McGregor’s potential attendance, a spokesperson for the Fingal County Council said yesterday:
“As yet, I don’t believe this necessary step has been progressed by Conor McGregor.”
Wexford County Council has also received correspondence from McGregor. Councillor Joe Sullivan told The Journal that all hopeful candidates will receive an invitation to address the council’s special meeting on 19 September.
“All prospective candidates have a democratic mandate to be there,” he said, adding that the council would “decide afterwards” who they would give their nomination to.
Ger Walsh, the Tipperary County Council meetings administrator, confirmed to The Journal that they received a request from McGregor on Wednesday seeking a nomination.
Walsh said McGregor has been advised that a special meeting of the council will take place on 16 September in Nenagh.
“All candidates have been advised to revert with a copy of their passport and nomination presentation by this Friday, 12th, if they wish to attend the Special Meeting. Candidates do not need to be in attendance to be considered,” he said.
Separately, Westmeath County Council informed McGregor earlier this year that he would not be welcome in its chamber.
Fianna Fáil councillor Aengus O’Rourke told Shannonside FM on Wednesday: “There’s many aspects to Conor McGregor that doesn’t endear him to the members of Westmeath County Council.”
- With reporting by Rónán Duffy and Jane Matthews
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