Odds On Conor McGregor Running For Irish Presidency in 2025

_{Conor McGregor announced his presidential bid just hours after a St. Patrick's Day visit to Donald Trump at the White House. (Image: White House Photo / Alamy)}

Conor McGregor has put his hat in the ring to be Ireland's next president. The mixed martial artist (MMA) is no stranger to a ring, having spent most of his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Octagon, but the political game is a different beast.

Some have previously dubbed McGregor the "Irish Trump", and McGregor's presidency announcement came just hours after he visited US President Donald Trump at the White House on St Patrick's Day.

The American businessman showered the former UFC star with praise, even saying he had the "best tattoos I've ever seen".

McGregor claimed on the same day that Ireland was "at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness", and he blamed the government, claiming it has "abandoned the voices" of Irish people.

Just days later, McGregor announced his intention to run for Irish presidency this year and "stand up" to the government over the EU Migration Pact. He wrote on Instagram: "Ireland must fully implement the EU Migration Pact by June 12, 2026.

So between now and 12 June 2026, several pieces of legislation have to be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas & then signed by the President. The next presidential election must take place by 11 Nov 2025

Who else will stand up to the government and oppose this bill? Any other presidential candidate they attempt to put forward will be of no resistance to them. I will! It is the people of Ireland's choice! Always! That is a true democracy!"

McGregor hasn't fought in the UFC since back-to-back defeats four years ago, and he doesn't have long to sort out his next battle – for the Irish presidency.

The 2025 Irish presidential election must take place by Tuesday, 11 November 2025, but to run for president, as an independent or as part of a party, McGregor would need the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas – representatives in Ireland's lower and upper houses of parliament – or be supported by at least four of Ireland's local authorities.

Would it even be possible?

McGregor's Celebrity Backing

McGregor has been backed by Elon Musk – the richest person in the world – and influencer Andrew Tate, who claimed he would vote for McGregor because he has an Irish passport.

However, those with an Irish passport must be a resident in Ireland to vote in the presidential election.

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Even if Tate could vote for him, McGregor would have to succeed in being able to run for the presidency first. And he isn't without his controversies.

A woman who accused McGregor of raping her was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages, resulting in some companies cutting ties with him. While he has appealed the High Court civil judgement, he has pleaded guilty to a separate incident – the assault of a man in a pub in 2019.

McGregor is yet to make it clear how he plans to be nominated for a presidential bid, but he sounds determined. 

On March 23rd, McGregor shared a picture of the front page of The Irish Mail on Sunday newspaper, which carried the headline: "We will stop McGregor's bid for Aras."

He commented on X: "No, you won't."

Just minutes later, he wrote on the social media site: "They will propose for me to sign off on Ireland's EU migration pact, which I will refuse, as President, without it voted on by the people.

IRELAND, WE ARE A DEMOCRACY! THE PEOPLE WILL HAVE THE POWER! A vote for McGregor is a vote for yourself!"

He is 2/1 to launch a successful bid to run for presidency, but some could make it difficult for him.

Conor's 'Close To Zero' Chance

The Mail on Sunday's report claimed coalition parties were looking to block the star's bid to be president by choosing candidates early for the upcoming election.

Politics expert Gary Murphy, who is Professor of Politics at DCU, thinks it is "almost impossible" for McGregor to end up on the ballot.

Speaking on Today With Claire Byrne on RTE Radio 1, he said, "He probably looks at Donald Trump and says he had a career basically in the media and then became president and that his MMA career is all but over I suspect and he's probably looking for the next step, but it would be, I think, almost impossible for him to get on the ballot.

"There are certainly not 20 members of the Oireachtas, in my view, who would vote for him and the county councils are being dominated by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the soft left.

"We saw Duncan Smith come out yesterday demanding that the Irish state seek an apology from the Americans for inviting him to the White House, so he's not going to get any sort of support from either the soft left, the hard left, or the centre, so I think it would be impossible for him to get on the ballot."

Gail McElroy, a professor of political science at Trinity College Dublin, agrees, saying McGregor has "close to zero" chance of being nominated.

She said, "There are two hurdles. First, you have to get nominated and then you have to win a majority of the vote.

"Both of those hurdles are almost insurmountable [for McGregor]."

And McElroy insisted it would be "really just impossible" for McGregor to be elected if he did manage to run for president.

It's just 1/2 that McGregor doesn't run for presidency this year, but that may not spell the end of his political dreams. Could McGregor use the experience to try again seven years down the line?

He's 5/1 to run for presidency in 2032, but 2025 is slightly shorter at 2/1.

However, it could be a "now or never" presidency bid for the MMA fighter – and the never is the 6/4 favourite.

McGregor's Outside Chance

Despite that, if McGregor defies all odds and runs for Irish president this year, will he be successful in his bid? It's not impossible, according to the bookmakers.

McGregor is best priced 20/1 with Ladbrokes to be the next Ireland president.

While that is far bigger than current 4/1 favourite Frances Black and 9/2 second favourite Mairead McGuinness, McGregor is hardly a 1,000/1 shot, which suggests he has an outside chance of not only running but being named Ireland's new president later this year. 

But how many votes would he receive if he did run? In 2018, more than 1.4 million votes were cast and Michael D. Higgins was re-elected with 56 per cent of the vote.

He received 822,566 votes, followed by runner-up Peter Casey – who was a panellist on Ireland's version of Dragons' Den – with 342,727 votes. Irish businessman Gavin Duffy received the fewest votes, 32,198, out of the six candidates.

In December 2023, a poll in the Irish Independent newspaper found 89 per cent wouldn't vote for McGregor, but eight per cent said they would if he ran for president.

If around 1.4 million were to vote in this year's Irish presidential election and eight per cent ticked Conor's box, then he would receive 112,000 votes. It wouldn't be enough for an election, but it could be a start and push him to run for president again in 2032.

If successful in his bid to run for presidency, McGregor is 5/2 to receive between zero and 112,000 votes, but he is 20/1 to receive half a million votes or more.