McGregor to ask Kildare and Dublin councillors for presidential nomination

Conor McGregor is to speak before Dublin City and Kildare County councillors as he seeks their nomination to become a presidential candidate.

The mixed martial arts fighter is one of 13 candidates scheduled to appear at a special meeting of Kildare County Council after 3.30pm on Monday.

Mr McGregor, 37, is then expected to travel to Dublin City Hall where he and 13 others are due set out their stalls at a meeting starting from 6.15pm.

The presidential election will be held on Friday October 24. To be eligible to run, a candidate must be nominated either by 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities. They must also be an Irish citizen over the age of 35.

Other presidential hopefuls who will be presenting to councillors on Monday include millionaire businessman Gareth Sheridan, Iona Institute member Maria Steen and maths lecturer Cora Stack.

Both councils have issued lists of candidates who are unable to attend the meetings but wish to be considered.

Dublin City Council said some have advised they cannot attend because a number of local authorities are holding their special meetings on the same day.

Earlier this year, McGregor lost his appeal against a civil jury’s finding in favour of Dublin woman Nikita Hand, who accused him of rape.

Ms Hand, 35, successfully sued him 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.

She was awarded almost 250,000 euro in damages and McGregor was also ordered to pay about 1.3 million euro in legal costs after the November trial.