Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate Jim Gavin has dropped out of the race for the Áras.

The former Dublin GAA manager released a statement last night in which he said he had thought “long and hard” about the impact of his campaign on family and friends.

"Taking 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,” he said.

The announcement came just hours after the second presidential debate, where Mr Gavin was questioned over an allegation from the Irish Independent that he owed a former tenant €3,300.

His shock departure is the first of its kind in the history of Irish presidential elections and leaves only two candidates – Independent Catherine Connolly and Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys – in the race.

Newstalk’s political correspondent Seán Defoe said that despite Mr Gavin pulling out, his name could still appear on the ballot paper.

Irish presidential candidates, (left to right) Fine Gael's candidate Heather Humphreys, independent candidate Catherine Connolly, who is backed by Sinn Fein and former Fianna Fail candidate Jim Gavin, during a debate on The Week in Politics at RTE studios in Donnybrook, Dublin. Picture date: Sunday October 5, 2025. Image: Conor O'Mearain / Alamy.

“A lot of those ballots will have already been printed,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.

“The deadline for nominations was obviously the 24th of September, so a lot of that had already been in the works and was in the process of getting out.

“We have about two-and-a-half weeks to rectify that, so there is still a little bit of time."

 

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However, Seán said that current legislation only covers a withdrawal that occurs before there has been a ruling on the list of official candidates.

“It doesn’t really cover this because we have never seen it before,” he said.

“So, it’s a real test of the legislation.

“I would imagine either they will rush now to try and reprint all of the ballots.

“Or possibly, more likely, Jim Gavin will still be on the ballot, and they’ll just allow the first count to proceed as normal and then discount and redistribute his votes.”

Former Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin on a street election poster for the 2025 Irish Presidential election on a Dublin city street pole. Image: Brendan Donnelly / Alamy. 29th September 2025

Seán said Taoiseach Micheál Martin “gambled on Jim Gavin” and has now clearly lost his bet.

“He has made a disastrous call here,” Seán said.

“He has picked somebody who, on paper, should have been a good presidential candidate, [but who] had very little to no charisma and just stumbled through making mistakes throughout his campaign.

"Up to ultimately pulling out in this very, very dramatic fashion.

“I don’t think it immediately means Micheál Martin’s head is on the chopping block, I think that would be a complete overreaction."

However, Seán said that there is now a "very open question mark" over whether Micheál Martin will comfortably lead the party into the next general election.

Main image: Jim Gain (L) and Micheál Martin (R).