Ireland’s Deputy PM Simon Harris Orders Party Councillors to Block McGregor’s Presidential Run—and It Feels Like a Betrayal of Democracy
I haven’t felt this wound up in a long, long time. Waking up today, seeing that Simon Harris—the Tánaiste, Fine Gael leader, someone I thought I could trust to uphold basic fairness—is telling his party’s local council members to refuse to even consider nominating independent candidates for the presidency. Including Conor McGregor, of all people, who may be flawed and controversial, but still has the right to try. It simply doesn’t sit right. It smells like the powerful shutting the door in everyone else’s face, whispering, “you don’t belong.”
There’s no beating around the bush. Fine Gael, through an instruction from their general secretary, John Carroll, notified all 246 of their councillors across the country that they must back only their own candidate and vote against any independent hopeful. That effectively shuts down any independent’s chance of securing one of the four council nominations needed to get on the ballot. It’s not small potatoes—these are the people meant to represent their communities, and they’re being told to follow the party whip rather than listen to their own conscience and electorate.
Already, independent hopefuls like Nick Delehanty and Gavin Sheridan have cried foul, calling this move “undemocratic” and “disappointing.” They’re right. It’s undemocratic. People like Conor McGregor, or any outsider with a spark of an idea, deserve a chance. We shouldn’t just be told that if you don’t have party backing, you don’t even get to try.
We’re just a few months—or even weeks—away from the presidential election, scheduled for October 24, 2025. People are still trying to get their names on the ballot. Independents need four local authorities or 20 Oireachtas members to put them forward. McGregor, in particular, still technically can make it with just four council nominations out of 941 total, but finding even one is going to feel like pulling teeth now that Fine Gael has declared its hand.
When I think of democracy, I picture people turning up to town hall meetings, having their say, and nominating someone who genuinely speaks for them—even if that person isn’t a polished politician. That’s what today’s events threaten. I get that party discipline is part of politics, but there’s a line between loyalty and closing off democracy to anyone but insiders. This isn’t some distant concept—it’s an urgent, living issue happening right now in our country.
On the shock scale, blocking McGregor, someone who’s literally gone from fighting in cages to hoping for Áras an Uachtaráin, feels symbolically explosive. He ended up condemning the move himself, calling it “a direct breach of democracy” and demanding that oversight bodies investigate it. And listening to that, even if you don’t like him personally, it gets your heart racing because you realize what’s at stake is bigger than one personality.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael isn’t alone. Reports suggest Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil are leaning the same way, effectively tightening the arch of party control around nominations. That spells a near blocked path for anyone outside the establishment.
So here I am, ranting like a blog, because this feels like a raw wound on our democracy. The irony is thick—our president is meant to stand above partisan divides, yet just getting on the ballot is being turned into a partisan gatekeeping scheme. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re letting down a principle older than any party. Ireland should be better than this.
