{"id":146204,"date":"2025-10-26T12:41:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T12:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/146204\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T12:41:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T12:41:19","slug":"the-election-blew-up-in-our-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/146204\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The election blew up in our face\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

On paper, Jim Gavin<\/a> could have been an election-winning candidate for Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a>. <\/p>\n

He had name recognition and popularity \u2013 in the capital at least \u2013 as the multi All-Ireland winning Dubs football boss.<\/p>\n

Aside from the appeal of his GAA connection, he had a long record of public service in the Defence Forces among several other roles. In theory, he could have won votes beyond Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s core support base.<\/p>\n

How is it, then, that the Gavin campaign so spectacularly imploded, leaving Fianna F\u00e1il severely bruised and raising renewed questions over how long Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> will continue to lead the party?<\/p>\n

As the election approached, veterans such as former taoiseach Bertie Ahern<\/a> and ex-minister Mary Hanafin<\/a> were knocking on the door to run for Fianna F\u00e1il. Even Bob Geldof later said he would have \u201cwalked it\u201d had he received the backing of Martin. <\/p>\n

However, political newcomer Gavin was identified as a possible candidate over the summer.<\/p>\n

During the campaign, Gavin told The Irish Times how he met Martin and Fianna F\u00e1il deputy leader Jack Chambers and how \u201ctheir vision of the presidency was aligned with mine\u201d.<\/p>\n

He described himself as an \u201cIrish republican\u201d, said \u201cserving the State\u201d was \u201cwhat motivates me\u201d and that \u201cultimately I believe that I can make a difference\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was not to be.<\/p>\n

\"DuringDuring the campaign, Gavin said his vision of the presidency was aligned with that of Miche\u00e1l Martin and Jack Chambers <\/p>\n

After their meetings, Martin and Chambers were evidently impressed and they pushed for Gavin to become Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s face on the ballot paper.<\/p>\n

Critics in the party later accused the leadership of pressurising TDs and Senators to back Gavin over MEP Billy Kelleher, a party stalwart who went up against him in an internal contest to be the candidate. <\/p>\n

Gavin emerged victorious in September \u2013 though by a closer margin than many expected \u2013 and hit the election trail. <\/p>\n

\"BillyBilly Kelleher (left) and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern were among the Fianna Fail veterans who hoped to get the party’s nomination. Photograph: PA <\/p>\n

The inexperienced politician appeared nervous in the first televised debate. Then there was a series of online gaffes by his campaign, among them the use of drone footage shot without appropriate permission, and uniformed Defence Forces personnel appearing in the former Air Corps officer\u2019s social media videos, all of which were taken down.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Timeline of an ill-fated campaign Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Then on October 4th the Irish Independent reported on an allegation that a former tenant of Gavin\u2019s \u2013 later revealed to be Sunday World journalist Niall Donald \u2013 mistakenly overpaid \u20ac3,300 in rent for an apartment the candidate previously owned and was never paid back. <\/p>\n

Gavin took part in a debate on RT\u00c9 on October 5th and said he was \u201clooking into\u201d the matter. <\/p>\n

That night he withdrew from the race with a statement saying he had \u201cmade a mistake that was not in keeping with my character\u201d. He later repaid his former tenant<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"NiallNiall Donald, deputy editor of the Sunday World, emerged as the tenant involved in the Jim Gavin controversy. Photograph: Screen grab Crime World podcast <\/p>\n

Gavin\u2019s name would remain on the ballot paper.<\/p>\n

There was personal sympathy among many in Fianna F\u00e1il for their ill-fated candidate and the difficult time that transpired for him and his family during a brief campaign. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Who knew what and when: the dramatic hours leading to the collapse of Jim Gavin\u2019s campaignOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

However, the party rapidly became consumed by turmoil over what had happened. Chambers and Martin defended their roles in Gavin\u2019s selection and the vetting that had taken place. During a marathon parliamentary party meeting Martin apologised and acknowledged the \u201churt and shock\u201d of Fianna F\u00e1il members.<\/p>\n

An ongoing review of the party\u2019s botched presidential bid is expected to deliver findings next month.<\/p>\n

Veteran Fianna F\u00e1il TD Se\u00e1n Fleming \u2013 who reviewed the party\u2019s underwhelming 2020 election \u2013 was blunt in his assessment this time around, saying the election \u201cblew up in our face\u201d. <\/p>\n

One thing he believed went wrong was that \u201cFianna F\u00e1il didn\u2019t pick one of our own\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, Fleming also highlighted good local, European and general election results, saying Fianna F\u00e1il had just \u201cone bad disaster amongst the lot of them\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Fintan O’Toole: Catherine Connolly deserves her landslide victory, but it\u2019s a hollow crownOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Former TD \u00c9amon \u00d3 Cu\u00edv was more downbeat. He criticised the uncertainty over whether Fianna F\u00e1il would contest the election saying an earlier decision would have allowed time for a candidate to be \u201cstress-tested\u201d, as \u201chappened in the case of Catherine Connolly\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Fianna F\u00e1il deputy leader \u00c9amon \u00d3 Cu\u00edv was among the critics of party tactics. Photograph: Eric Luke <\/p>\n

After Gavin ended his campaign, Martin and other senior Fianna F\u00e1il figures confirmed their support for Fine Gael\u2019s Heather Humphreys. \u00d3 Cu\u00edv believed this was a mistake and \u201cbasically cements\u201d the Opposition\u2019s \u201cFFG\u201d jibe thrown at Fianna F\u00e1il in recent years.<\/p>\n

He opposed entering Coalition with Fine Gael in 2020, predicting \u201cwe would wind up with two big parties in the future but that one of them wouldn\u2019t be Fianna F\u00e1il.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Cu\u00edv contended that senior figures backing Humphreys \u201cwould seem to bring us much nearer to that disappointing prognosis\u201d. <\/p>\n

Dublin MEP Barry Andrews did not agree, saying it was an \u201cexaggeration to suggest it might be the beginning of the end of Fianna F\u00e1il\u201d.<\/p>\n

He lamented the lack of hustings in the party\u2019s presidential nominations process, saying it would have allowed members to \u201cproperly cross-examine the candidates\u201d. He said what happened was \u201cdamaging\u201d but pointed to recent electoral successes \u2013 Fianna F\u00e1il \u201cshouldn\u2019t panic\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hanafin admitted disappointment at not getting into the race herself, and said: \u201cI certainly would have given it a good shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did not believe that Gavin, while \u201can exceptional man at what he did\u201d, was the right candidate, she said, adding: \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t ask me to be the manager of the Dublin football team.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there was disappointment and anger in Fianna F\u00e1il, there appeared to be no imminent threat to Martin\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

\u00d3 Cu\u00edv and Hanafin believed his days at the helm were numbered, despite his stated intention to lead the party into the next general election. <\/p>\n

Hanafin said Martin was \u201ca very good Taoiseach\u201d and she expected him to stay in office during Ireland\u2019s EU presidency in 2026 but added: \u201cI don\u2019t actually see him getting to the end of 2027.\u2033<\/p>\n

As for his possible successor, Hanafin said she had \u201ca lot of time for Jim O\u2019Callaghan\u201d. <\/p>\n

After Gavin\u2019s election exit, O\u2019Callaghan said he did not believe Martin was badly damaged, and while aspiring to be party leader, it was \u201cnot an immediate concern for me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Andrews said the Taoiseach still had \u201ca lot of credit in the bank\u201d within Fianna F\u00e1il, was \u201ca huge electoral asset\u201d and added: \u201cI still think Miche\u00e1l will lead us into the next general election.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On paper, Jim Gavin could have been an election-winning candidate for Fianna F\u00e1il. He had name recognition and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[56563,15526,9316,21088,9,10,23300,18,13,14,4771,6,19,17,26736,19487,11,12,15,16,5765,5,59,86266,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-146204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-barry-andrews","9":"tag-bertie-ahern","10":"tag-billy-kelleher","11":"tag-bob-geldof","12":"tag-breaking-news","13":"tag-breakingnews","14":"tag-eamon-o-cuiv","15":"tag-eire","16":"tag-featured-news","17":"tag-featurednews","18":"tag-fianna-fail","19":"tag-headlines","20":"tag-ie","21":"tag-ireland","22":"tag-jack-chambers","23":"tag-jim-gavin","24":"tag-latest-news","25":"tag-latestnews","26":"tag-main-news","27":"tag-mainnews","28":"tag-micheal-martin","29":"tag-news","30":"tag-presidential-election","31":"tag-sean-fleming","32":"tag-top-stories","33":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115440523146191457","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146204","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=146204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}