All eyes will be on Dublin City Council on Monday as former MMA fighter Conor McGregor addresses councillors in his bid to get on the presidential election ballot paper.
Some eight local authorities will meet throughout the day to decide whether they will support a candidate to contest the October 24 election.
To run, a candidate needs to secure the backing of four councils or 20 Oireachtas members.
To date, just three candidates have secured their place on the ballot paper: Independent candidate Catherine Connolly, Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin, and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.
A Red C Poll, published in Sunday’s Business Post, shows Ms Humphreys is, so far, leading the pack at 22%. This is followed by Mr Gavin on 18% and Ms Connolly on 17%.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who ruled herself out of the race last week, garnered 21% of respondents’ first preferences.
Other candidates whose support was polled included Peter Casey (6%), Nick Delehanty (4%), and Gareth Sheridan (2%). “Others” were on 5%.
Election hopefuls to speak
Mr McGregor’s name did not appear in the poll ahead of his much-anticipated appearance at Dublin City Council shortly before 9pm tonight. He will be among 14 candidates who have confirmed their eligibility and will attend the meeting alongside Maria Steen, Mr Sheridan, and Dolores Cahill.
Mr McGregor confirmed at the weekend that social media boss Elon Musk offered financial assistance to his presidential election campaign. He described the Tesla and X owner as an “actual superhero”.
He said: “Pledged his support, even offered financial help. I said, ‘I’m not here… I’m not after that’. He is a credit to humanity, and I appreciate it greatly.”
In a post on X, Mr Musk backed up McGregor’s comments.
It’s true. I offered financial support to get his message out, if needed, but he respectfully declined.
Rules around political donations for all elections are set out under the Electoral Act 1997 and overseen by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo). Candidates in Dáil, Seanad, European, and presidential elections must disclose donations and election expenses.
There are limits on the value of donations to “political parties, third parties, candidates and elected representatives”.
“Donations from people or organisations outside Ireland, other than citizens or organisations that keep an office on the island of Ireland, are not allowed under the Act,” the rules dictate.
As Mr McGregor addresses Dublin City Council, Fianna Fáil will be meeting in Cork for its annual pre-Dáil think-in. The Irish Examiner understands that Jim Gavin will attend the gathering.
Elsewhere, Heather Humphreys launched her campaign at the weekend in her home county of Monaghan, surrounded by Fine Gael politicians. She said she would use the presidency to “facilitate reconciliation and understanding”, stating the “three pillars” of her campaign will be “community, unity, and opportunity”.
The former minister, who is Presbyterian, said she attended Orange Order parades as a child but stopped going when The Troubles broke out. She also stated she would vote in favour of Irish unity.
Sinn Féin, meanwhile, will provide clarity on whether they will run their own candidate or back another candidate later this week. The decision will be taken by the party’s Ard Comhairle on Saturday.
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