Controversial former MMA champion Conor McGregor has criticized ‘mass migration’ as he makes moves towards running for Irish presidency.

McGregor, who was last year found guilty of rape in a civil trial, has formally applied to address a special meeting of Dublin City Council. 

According to the Irish Constitution, potential presidential candidates need to be at least 35 years of age and must gain support from either 20 Members of Parliament or four of the 31 local councils in the nation.

In a video posted outside Government Buildings on Thursday, McGregor urged people to lobby their local councillors to support his candidacy.

‘We are witnessing an unprecedented rise in homelessness among Irish children, which highlights the Government’s failure to uphold our proclamation’s promise that all Irish children should be cherished. Instead, our children are being neglected,’ stated McGregor.

He added that ‘this failure to safeguard future generations has coincided with significant mass migration, straining an already struggling system.’

‘Our tourism has sharply declined, while danger on our streets has risen,’ he said. 

Framing himself as a ‘master of martial combat’ and a ‘solution-oriented individual,’ McGregor called on the public to persuade local representatives to endorse his campaign to secure a spot on the presidential ballot.

‘If you want to see my name on the ballot for the presidency, I urge you to contact your local county councillors today and ask them to nominate me,’ he said.

Nominations opened yesterday, with McGregor applying to appear before Dublin City Council’s special sitting on September 15, alongside other hopefuls.

A protocol adopted by the council in July allows all candidates who make contact to address councillors for up to five minutes. 

They will then face a five-minute Q&A session, during which they must comply with the council’s code of conduct.

Despite this, McGregor’s chances of winning support are slim. To secure a nomination, he would need the backing of a majority of the council’s 63 members.

Lord Mayor of Dublin and Fine Gael Councillor Ray McAdam told the Mail that he will ensure that the meeting is ‘conducted in a fair and orderly manner’ and that ‘all candidates who come forward comply fully with the procedures and criteria approved by the elected members of the Council’.

‘This is an important aspect of our democratic process, and it will be treated with the seriousness it deserves,’ he said.

Speaking to the Mail, Sinn Féin group leader Daithí Doolan said his party would either run its own candidate or support Independent TD Catherine Connolly, who already has the backing of several left-wing parties.

‘It’s highly unlikely [we’d support McGregor]. I’ll be saying we should throw our weight behind our own candidate,’ he said.

Sinn Féin holds nine council seats. The governing parties, Fine Gael (11 seats) and Fianna Fáil (eight seats), will instruct their members not to back McGregor, leaving him reliant on a small number of independents.

McGregor’s political ambitions come less than a year after a Dublin jury in a civil trial found that he raped Nikita Hand in a hotel room in December 2018. 

The court awarded her almost €250,000 in damages. McGregor lost his appeal against that ruling in July.

Three judges concluded that his appeal failed on all five grounds and upheld the previous decision ordering McGregor to pay damages to Nikita Hand.

Hand has since launched further legal action following the failed appeal.

In her latest filing, she is suing him and two other people for damages, claiming they were involved in malicious abuse of court processes.