A 16-year-old tenant-landlord dispute has overshadowed the presidential bid of Jim Gavin, a contender from the largest party in Ireland, Fianna Fail, just a week after he entered the race.
The scandal involves a EUR3,300 (PS2,870) overpayment by Niall Donald in 2009, who was a tenant in an apartment in Dublin owned by Mr Gavin.
Mr Donald, who has now become the deputy editor of the Sunday World newspaper, did not cancel a standing order upon relocating, which led to continued rent payments.
Mr Donald explained, “I must have cancelled one of the standing orders, and I failed to cancel the other one.”
“People can say my stupidity has played in it and they would be 100% right,” he added.
Despite his attempts to get in touch with Mr Gavin and request the refund, he did not receive it.
Over the years, the controversy was a private matter, with Jim Gavin becoming a national icon as the most successful team manager of the Dublin Gaelic football team, culminating in five straight All-Ireland titles.
The problem returned with explosive consequences when Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil headhunted the political outlier to run as their presidential nominee in the current presidential election.
The long-dormant case caught national attention last Saturday, October 4, when an independent Irish newspaper revealed all the details of the dispute.
The following day, Mr Gavin was questioned about the event during a televised presidential debate on RTÉ. Still, he failed to provide clear details of the dispute, which caused a wave of negative reactions from Irish people.
By the hours his campaign had been destroyed. Mr Gavin withdrew sensationally from the contest, causing a shock in the Irish political world.
The blowback has caused a political storm in Fianna Fáil, with party leaders being the subject of furious recriminations for how they vetted the candidate and managed the selection of candidates.
This has left the party without a presidential candidate.
A legal team representing Jim Gavin has, in a statement, informed RTE that he will now pay EUR3,300 to Mr Donald.
16-year-old rental dispute derails Irish presidential campaign
