Small-Time Political Scandals Still Have Consequences In Island Nation Called Ireland | Defector

"Friday is Presidential Election Day in Ireland. What was a ho-hum electoral season got overheated when the campaign of Jim Gavin, a Gaelic football legend turned political neanderfuck and one of only three candidates on the ballot, imploded at the 11th hour over news that he'd screwed a former tenant out of overpaid rent 16 years ago. Irish campaigns are a whole lot shorter than we're used to stateside: The presidential ballot wasn't finalized until late September."

"Gavin won six All-Ireland championships as manager of Dublin's football squad from 2012 through 2019, including an unprecedented five Sam Maguire Cups in a row in his last five years. Incumbent president Michael Higgins, a leprechaun-looking dude who became massively popular with his countrymen since taking office in 2011, was prohibited from running again because of federal term limits. Over the summer, Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, began lobbying for Gavin to run for the job under his party, Fianna Fáil."

"Gavin's campaign got off to a rough start, and never recovered. As a sportsman, Gavin always cut a stoic figure-the Irish Examiner once described him as being in a "typically emotionless state" on the sidelines. And since he oversaw Dublin during what is generally considered the most dynastic era of football in the 140-year history of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Gavin rarely had his methods questioned or faced hard questions in post-match press conferences."

Friday is Presidential Election Day in Ireland. The presidential ballot featured three candidates after incumbent Michael Higgins was barred by term limits. Jim Gavin, a Gaelic football legend who won six All-Ireland championships and five consecutive Sam Maguire Cups as Dublin manager, was nominated by Taoiseach Micheál Martin as Fianna Fáil's candidate. Gavin's campaign imploded at the 11th hour when news surfaced that he had denied a former tenant overpaid rent from 16 years earlier. Gavin committed multiple gaffes during a compressed campaign season and his stoic, nonpolitical background left him ill-equipped to handle controversy or adversarial journalists.

Read at Defector