Fianna Fáil TDs and senators faced “considerable pressure” from Micheál Martin and Jack Chambers to support Jim Gavin’s candidacy, a party TD has claimed, reports RTE.
Cork East TD James O’Connor stated that Mr Gavin “should have never found himself on the ballot paper” after withdrawing from the presidential contest amid a controversy involving a past tenant.
Figures both within and outside of Fianna Fáil have described the situation as a “complete shambles”, reports RTE.
In his statement, Mr O’Connor said the party must “resolutely address our mistakes and political misjudgements” from the campaign, while also questioning the judgement of Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and deputy leader Jack Chambers.
He said that several colleagues had felt that selecting Mr Gavin was a “serious risk” due to his “glaring lack” of political background.
Posting on X, Mr O’Connor said the leadership made a “serious miscalculation” by ignoring these concerns, reports RTE.
“Jim Gavin should have never found himself on the ballot paper. He was there due to the extensive pressure put on Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators by Micheál Martin and Jack Chambers. They repeatedly phoned each member of the parliamentary party in the days before the selection convention on the 9th of September,” reports RTE.
Mr Gavin had been nominated by Fianna Fáil to compete against Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys and Independent Catherine Connolly, who is supported by Sinn Féin, Labour, and the Social Democrats.
However, he withdrew from the race late on Sunday night following mounting questions about an alleged debt of over €3,000 to a former tenant.
Fianna Fáil is expected to convene its parliamentary party tomorrow to review the problems surrounding its campaign, reports RTE.
Mr Gavin, an aviation official and former military pilot who also managed the Dublin Gaelic football team, stepped away from the race, admitting he had “made a mistake”.
The Irish Independent published allegations from a former tenant who claimed he was owed more than €3,000 in overpaid rent from 16 years ago.
The Taoiseach dismissed suggestions that Fianna Fáil had knowledge of this issue before selecting Mr Gavin, calling such claims “not a fair representation of the situation at all”, reports RTE.
Speaking before entering Government Buildings this morning, Micheál Martin said: “An issue was raised, but in a very generic and general way.
“We were not aware of any such issue, and that is the truth of it, and when the issue was raised repeatedly, we were told it was no issue.”
Mr Martin said it was wrong to suggest the party was aware earlier than when the tenant “rang on Saturday”, reports RTE.
Asked about Mr Gavin’s name still being on the presidential ballot, Mr Martin said: “That’s just the reality of how things have worked out. It’s very unfortunate,” reports RTE.
The Fianna Fáil leader added that the party had made clear the reasons why Mr Gavin stepped away from the campaign.
Also speaking outside Government Buildings, Jack Chambers, the party’s director of elections for the presidential campaign, defended the background checks done on Mr Gavin.
Mr Chambers said: “Fianna Fáil headquarters did a very comprehensive and robust due diligence process before his election as a candidate, any questions or queries that came to the party’s press office were put to Jim Galvin, and he was absolutely clear on having no issues relating to a tenant,” reports RTE.
“It’s only what evolved over the weekend where obviously the difference of what was stated before and what emerged became absolutely clear. So there was absolute and full due diligence was done,” reports RTE.
Minister of State Thomas Byrne said he was heartbroken by the turn of events in Mr Gavin’s campaign.
The Fianna Fáil TD said he felt sorrow for Mr Gavin and his family, given the public scrutiny, but also acknowledged the broader impact on the party itself.
“It’s not where we wanted to be and there’s a lot of anger out there. There needs to be a full review and full accountability about this,” reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Mr Byrne said he had supported Mr Gavin’s candidacy, believing he could appeal beyond the party base.
He described the situation as “awful” and added that details about the party’s internal vetting process must now be made public.
Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh described Mr Gavin’s nomination as “bad judgement” by Mr Martin, and said there were still unanswered questions around how thoroughly he was vetted, reports RTE.
Call for full and frank review of selection process
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Cowen, representing Midlands North West, has called for a transparent and complete review of the process by which Mr Gavin was chosen as the party’s presidential candidate.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Cowen said he was unhappy with how the selection was handled and believes a more inclusive process—one that allows greater input from councillors and members—should be adopted, reports RTE.
Mr Cowen acknowledged that Mr Martin’s effort to attract voters outside the party’s base was understandable.
However, he said this approach may have led to overlooking existing talent and experience within Fianna Fáil, and may have weakened grassroots motivation to back a lesser-known figure, reports RTE.
Mr Cowen said he had supported Billy Kelleher during the selection process and, while Mr Gavin came with strong recommendations, he didn’t know him personally. In contrast, he had worked closely with Mr Kelleher and trusted his ability to connect with the public.
Mr Cowen also stated that while he respects Independent candidate Catherine Connolly, he disagrees with her on Ireland’s international position, especially in Europe.
I personally will be supporting [Fine Gael’s] Heather Humphreys, he said, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
