Conor McGregor among 21 presidential hopefuls to state their case at Wicklow County Council

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor is among the 21 candidates to have requested Wicklow County Council’s support in a bid to secure a nomination to run for president.

A special meeting has been set for Tuesday, September 16, which all presidential hopefuls must attend in person to be considered.

Those present, which could also include businessman Gareth Sheridan and local candidates Dominic Plant and Charlie Keddy, will be allowed to give a short presentation to the council, before taking questions from the elected members.

To be eligible to run in the presidential election, candidates must get the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities, but independent candidates, like McGregor, have hit a snag.

Fine Gael has instructed its councillors to vote against independent candidates, while Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have said they will not be telling their councillors how to vote.

In Wicklow County Council there are nine members of Fine Gael, four from Fianna Fáil, two from Sinn Féin and 10 independents, with the remaining seven seats held by smaller parties.

Who are the candidates seeking Wicklow County Council’s presidential nomination?

Mr McGregor is undoubtedly the most high-profile name that has contacted Wicklow County Council in relation to seeking a nomination.

Already there are some councillors who have expressed their views on his candidacy.

In a post on social media, Cllr Paul O’Brien has stated he won’t be voting for the former MMA fighter.

“I take my role as a county councillor extremely seriously and I want to confirm that I will not support Conor McGregor in any way, shape, or form.

“His message of hate, division and exclusion is polar opposites to what I stand for.”

Cllr Lourda Scott also said she would not be nominating Mr McGregor.

“I was elected in 2019 and 2024 on a platform of equality, inclusion and social justice. I am a proud feminist. I do not support hatred or racism.

“I will not lend my support to anyone who does not reflect these values.”

“He is the polar opposite to what I stand for.”

Mr Sheridan is the multimillionaire former-CEO of Nutriband, a US-based pharmaceutical company. Mr Sheridan’s campaign is focused on housing, and he says he wants to “make Ireland home again”. He says that people who are living and working in Ireland should be able to buy a home here, and that he would hold the Dáil to account over failures in housing.

A native of Wicklow, Mr Plant is an IT and GDPR manager. He contested the 2014 and 2024 local elections, as well as running for the Dáil in last year’s general election. He has spoken about the need for an improved public transport service, the need for more housing, both for social and private housing, as well as the provision of more local jobs. Mr Plant was unsuccessful in his bid for the Dáil, having received just over 40 votes.

From Kilcoole, Co Wicklow, Mr Keddy has been contesting – unsuccessfully – local and national elections since 1985 when he first ran for Wicklow County Council for the Labour Party. He favours free healthcare but is against abortion and property tax.

The former professor at UCD came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic when she posted a series of videos denouncing restrictions imposed by the department of health and subsequently clashed with gardaí when she was refused entry to a polling centre in 2021 after a by election in the Dublin Bay South constituency for not wearing a mask.

The businessman who featured on the Irish version of Dragons Den finished second to Michael D. Higgins in 2018, is returning for another shot at the presidency. During that campaign he made comments regarding Ireland’s Traveller community and a case involving a family at a housing estate in co Tipperary. He ended up receiving 342,727 first preference votes or 23.3 pc of the votes.

Mr Allen is an electrical contractor from County Cork. He has had a “lifelong ambition to go for President of Ireland since he saw the late presidents getting the guard of honours around the place and the respect that is shown to those people”.

The lawyer turned doggy daycare owner based in Dublin is a native of Lisronagh, outside Clonmel. If elected, Mr Delehanty has vowed to lead an overhaul of Ireland’s asylum laws, while also saying that he doesn’t agree with multiculturalism. He also vowed to do more for the Irish language if elected and said his core principle is fidelity to the Irish nation.

A qualified psychologist, Ms Keenan says she has a unique set of connections all over the world that she believes fills the role as president.

As a musician and artist, heritage means the most to her, while her ambition to see a united Ireland and an island of peace are her goals. “I have the personality you need,” Ms Keenan said. “Someone ready to listen.”

The social care worker, a native of Ratoath in Meath, is best known as the founder of Wool in School, an educational initiative centred around wool and sustainability. She has championed the role of education in tackling climate change and preserving heritage. She is a trained fibre artist, and runs Feirm VR, which introduces children to farming practices through immersive VR. The Meath woman is also undertaking a Masters in Agricultural Innovation at the University of Galway.

The Limerick man says he is a “president with a mission”. His key concerns are the health of Ireland’s democracy and he says he will work to deepen the president’s role within the Constitution.

A Donegal native, Mr McGrory spent 25 years in the construction industry as an engineer, who built his business from scratch. These are experiences, he says, that give him an “entrepreneurial mindset”. As president, he would encourage all citizens – at home and abroad - to stay physically active in order “to face the challenges” of life.

Professor Doctor Joseph Chikelue Obi

The qualified medical doctor is looking to become Ireland’s first black president. His social media pages say that his key aim of running for president is to deliver a united Ireland by Easter 2039. Dr Obi was born in London, and previously worked as a doctor there, before being suspended for professional misconduct at a British hospital and undergoing a probe by the British police. As part of his presidential campaign, Dr Obi says he will deliver the Narrow Water Bridge project, fully implement the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, and collaborate closely with the UK Government and reset Irish-UK relations.

Walter Ryan-Purcell is a member of Independent Ireland, and contested the 2024 general election in the Cork Northwest constituency.

Dr Stack lecturer of mathematics at the Technological University of Dublin. Dr Stack describes herself as a “mathematician, academic, and writer with wide interests that extend far beyond numbers – politics, music, culture, psychology, human rights, law, and the search for meaning in a complex world.”

Mr Uunk is the party secretary for the Party for Animal Welfare. He previously ran in the Limerick mayoral election and general election in 2024. He worked as an extra on the series Vikings. A naturalised Irish citizen originally from the Netherlands, Uunk is now based in Ashford in West Limerick.

The wheelbarrow is the alter-ego of Kerry writer Stephen Murphy. Mr Wheely-Row vows to “bring the craic back”, and says if elected, he will use his time in office to “plant the seeds of surreality in the hearts and minds of Irish people”. Mr Wheely-Row says that Ireland needs a president “with a handle on the right and a handle on the left”.

A further four unknown candidates, David Parnell, Seana Kerr, Lucy Anne O’Leary and Abbas Alli O’Shea, have submitted applications for a nomination to Wicklow County Council.