{"id":104506,"date":"2025-10-05T23:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T23:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/104506\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T23:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T23:53:07","slug":"jim-gavin-withdraws-from-presidential-election-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/104506\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim Gavin withdraws from presidential election \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> candidate Jim Gavin<\/a> has withdrawn from the presidential election<\/a> after a bruising week on the campaign trail and questions raised about his time as a landlord in the late noughties.<\/p>\n

His decision will cause shock waves in the race to succeed President Michael D Higgins<\/a> in \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in reducing the field to just two candidates \u2013 left wing independent TD Catherine Connolly<\/a> and Fine Gael\u2019s Heather Humphreys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Sunday night, former Dublin GAA manager Mr Gavin said he has \u201cthought long and hard about the potential impact of the ongoing campaign on the wellbeing of my family and friends\u201d and he has withdrawn \u201cwith immediate effect\u201d.<\/p>\n

It comes after questions were raised about an allegation reported by the Irish Independent that a former tenant of his mistakenly overpaid \u20ac3,300 in rent<\/a> for an apartment he previously owned and was never paid back.<\/p>\n

Mr Gavin and his wife Jennifer used to own an apartment in the Smithfield area of Dublin.<\/p>\n

The report set out how they got into financial difficulties and the property was handed back to the bank with an additional sum added to the mortgage on their Rathfarnham home.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Gavin exits \u00c1ras race: What next for Fianna F\u00e1il, Miche\u00e1l Martin and the electionOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Mr Gavin said during Sunday\u2019s televised debate on RT\u00c9 that he was \u201clooking into\u201d the matter and \u201cif it happened I\u2019m very sorry that it happened, I really am, and I will address it\u201d.<\/p>\n

In his statement on Sunday night Mr Gavin said: \u201cWhen I announced my intention to contest the presidential election I did so in a spirit of lifelong public service and a love of country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat has always been my sole motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe deeply in this country, its dreams, its hopes and above all its people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe office of Uachtar\u00e1n na h\u00c9ireann is the highest in the land and the pinnacle of public service. It is an office that must be untainted by controversy or distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he always knew the campaign \u201cwould be robust and challenging and anyone who knows me knows that I have never shirked from a contest\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have always sought to act in honour and good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Gavin added that \u201crecent days have given me cause to reflect\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself. I am now taking steps to address the matter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have also thought long and hard about the potential impact of the ongoing campaign on the wellbeing of my family and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking all these considerations on board, I have decided to withdraw from the presidential election contest with immediate effect and return to the arms of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HeatherHeather Humphreys (left), Catherine Connolly, and Jim Gavin attended a presidential election debate on The Week in Politics at RT\u00c9 studios in Dublin on Sunday. Photograph: Conor O’Mearain\/PA Wire<\/p>\n

He said he was \u201chumbled\u201d by the kind words he received during the campaign and thanked supporters adding: \u201cI truly hope you understand my decision and do not feel let down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo raibh m\u00edle maith agaibh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a>, the Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> leader, said: \u201cI fully understand [Mr Gavin\u2019s] decision and believe it is the correct one.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said: \u201cJim has achieved an enormous amount in his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis commitment to service and helping others has always, quite rightly, defined his character and his great standing with the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJim has accepted that he made an error in relation to an issue that has arisen in recent days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Martin said Mr Gavin is \u201cclear that he does not want to bring controversy on to this office\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Five takeaways from Sunday\u2019s presidential debateOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a very difficult decision for Jim given his commitment to public service. I wish him well. I have no doubt that he will continue to make a significant contribution to Irish life and society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the week Mr Gavin\u2019s campaign used drone footage shot without the appropriate permissions having been secured for two events in social media posts.<\/p>\n

The errors jarred with his job as a senior figure at the Irish Aviation Authority.<\/p>\n

Questions were also raised about uniformed Defence Forces personnel appearing in the former Air Corps officer\u2019s social media videos an the posts were taken down by Fianna F\u00e1il.<\/p>\n

A Sunday Independent\/Ireland Thinks poll published at the weekend suggested he is trailing Ms Connolly and Ms Humphreys.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe withdrawal of Jim Gavin from the presidential election clarifies the nature of this campaign,\u201d People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said in a statement late on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am looking forward to the coming one on one debates between Heather Humphreys and Catherine Connolly. I have every confidence that Catherine\u2019s authenticity will continue to shine through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fianna F\u00e1il candidate Jim Gavin has withdrawn from the presidential election after a bruising week on the campaign…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,1921,18,13,14,4771,553,6,555,19,17,19487,11,12,15,16,1874,5,59,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-104506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-catherine-connolly","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-fianna-fail","15":"tag-fine-gael","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-heather-humphreys","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-jim-gavin","21":"tag-latest-news","22":"tag-latestnews","23":"tag-main-news","24":"tag-mainnews","25":"tag-michael-d-higgins","26":"tag-news","27":"tag-presidential-election","28":"tag-top-stories","29":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}