Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor has announced he is withdrawing from the race for the Irish presidency.

“Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race,” he wrote in a post on social media.

“This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time.”

McGregor announced his intention to join the race to become Ireland’s president in September last year.

He had been due to address meetings later on Monday of Dublin City Council and Kildare County Council in an attempt to get onto the ballot paper for October’s election.

He would have needed to be nominated either by 20 members of the Irish parliament or four local authorities.

McGregor said he had been “sincere and genuine” about his intentions to contest the election and had been “truly humbled” by the “support and encouragement” he received.

He went on to claim the election eligibility rules in Ireland’s “outdated constitution” were a “straitjacket” that prevented a “true democratic presidential election being contested”.

He claimed the constitution ensured the election was “fixed to ensure only Establishment approved candidates may be selected on the ballot”.

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