Micheál Martin told Jim Gavin he could not recommend Fianna Fáil support after tenant row revelations
The review into the presidential election campaign, which saw Jim Gavin drop out of the race over a dispute with a tenant, was completed on Monday evening. File Picture: Leah Farrell/©Rollingnnews.ie
Jim Gavin was told by Taoiseach Micheál Martin that he could not recommend Fianna Fáil continue to back the former GAA boss due to the revelations over €3,300 owed to a former tenant.
Mr Martin and his party's deputy leader Jack Chambers also told Mr Gavin he was facing "10 very difficult days", a party review has found.
Mr Gavin had been asked twice about an issue with a tenant and said he had no recollection of any issue, the newly published review shows.
This remained the former Dublin GAA boss's position until October 4 until the tenant identified himself in a telephone call received by the party press office in the presence of Mr Gavin.
The review into the presidential election campaign, which saw Jim Gavin drop out of the race over a dispute with a tenant, was completed on Monday evening.
Mr Gavin withdrew from the election in October after failing to inform the party about a previous dispute with a tenant. He had failed to repay the tenant rent overpayments worth €3,300 in 2008.
The report found:
"Mr Gavin meets with An Taoiseach and Minister Jack Chambers in the afternoon. Both parties recognise how serious the matter is. An Taoiseach and Minister Chambers advise that they are not in a position to recommend to the parliamentary party that they continue to support Mr Gavin. They advised that continuing with the campaign would lead to 10 very difficult days and that it would not be fair to ask Party members to continue to campaign for him.
"Later that evening, Mr Gavin returned to the party’s headquarters and announced his intention to withdraw from the campaign. Mr Gavin was given assistance in drafting a statement.
"At 10.30pm, Mr Gavin issues a statement withdrawing from the race. He said he had reflected on the issue involving the non-repayment of the rent and concluded he “made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself”.
"He said he was taking steps to address the matter. In his statement, he also referenced the potential impact of the campaign on the wellbeing of his family and friends."
The report goes on to say that the aborted campaign cost the party €150,000 to date, but could more than double.
"The party set a budget of approximately €500,000 for the presidential election. As of November 11, 2025 approximately €150,000 had been spent. It is believed that total cost will be approximately €350,000 to €400,000. Budgets were drafted on the basis that the Party would recover €250,000 pursuant to Section 21A of the Electoral Act 1997. This, unfortunately, did not materialise."
The report says as part of the ongoing due diligence, Mr Gavin was asked on September 5 and on September 8 about a reference to a dispute with a tenant. The reference was in a telephone call from Irish Independent Ireland editor Fionnán Sheahan to Micheál Martin's top adviser Deirdre Gillane on September 5 and an email on the 8th received by Fianna Fáil’s press office.
"Mr Gavin explained his recollection as being that there had been no issue with any tenant. This remained Mr Gavin's position until the tenant identified himself to Elaine O'Meara in a phone call in Mr Gavin's presence on the afternoon of Saturday October 4. Mr Gavin then made a further examination of his records."
The report found that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not receive a response despite putting his name forward.
"Though he never formally declared his candidacy, Mr. Ahern continued to express an interest in standing throughout July and August. He made contact with Mr Dorgan in April of 2025.
"Mr. Ahern did not receive a definitive response to his request for the Leader’s support (which he made through the General Secretary). He did not put his name forward to the Parliamentary Party. He learned that he wasn’t going to have the support of the leadership from the media. Mr Dorgan confirmed that he did not contact Mr Ahern’s office until on or around August 26, and fully accepts that he should have made contact with him a week or two sooner and stated that it was not his intention to be discourteous."
Mr Gavin was initially suggested as a candidate to Mr Chambers by former Dublin footballer Keith Barr, with the party’s deputy leader being contacted on the week of June 9.
Mr Gavin requested a meeting with Mr Chambers on Sunday, June 15, with an exploratory meeting taking place on June 22, including Mr Barr and Fianna Fáil’s general secretary Sean Dorgan.
A further meeting with Mr Gavin, Mr Chambers and Mr Dorgan took place on July 8, with the party asking the former Dublin manager to “give serious consideration” to running.
A later meeting, on July 21, Mr Gavin met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
The report states Mr Gavin “had not committed” and was asked to give serious consideration to running in the election.
Mr Gavin informed Mr Dorgan he was interested in running on August 1.
“It was felt that August (known as ‘silly season’ in political media circles) was not a good month to launch a campaign. It was noted that many candidates that launched their campaigns in August had met with failure,” the report adds.
Mr Gavin did not formally enter the race until later in August, with Mr Martin and Mr Chambers contacting parliamentary party members about his intention to contest for the Fianna Fáil nomination.
On due diligence carried out on Mr Gavin’s candidacy, the report states it was carried out by a number of party sources, including Mr Dorgan and communications specialists which was believed to be “exhaustive”.
This due diligence consisted of “research, the examination of public documents, media articles and several meetings with Mr Gavin”.
It adds the discussions were more detailed than for other candidates due to Mr Gavin’s lack of experience with media scrutiny.
“During the course of the due diligence, a variety of questions on Mr. Gavin’s position as a landlord and a variety of matters that might arise as a result thereof were raised,” the report states.
“It was stated that any disgruntled tenant would almost certainly raise their grievance publicly. Mr. Gavin did not recall any potential issues when the topic was addressed even in the light of Deputy Lahart’s and Mr. Sheahan’s communications and nothing further was done.”
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