MORTIFIED. SHOCKED. ANNOYED. This is a calamity. 

These were some of the reactions from Fianna Fáil parliamentary party members this morning as they digested last night’s shock news that their presidential candidate Jim Gavin had withdrawn from the race.

At 10.31 pm last night, A Fianna Fáil email with Gavin’s statement landed in the inboxes of journalists across Ireland. A minute later, at 10.32 pm, Fianna Fáil TDs, MEPs and senators received a text from Taoiseach Micheál Martin informing them of the news.

“I fully understand his decision and believe it is the correct one,” Martin said. 

The news that Gavin owed a former tenant over €3,000, brought to light by the Irish Independent on Saturday, may have been the nail in the coffin for the former Dubs manager, but for many within Fianna Fáil, the writing was already on the wall in the days prior. 

Speaking to The Journal, one TD said there has been a feeling within the party that his performance had been less than inspiring.

“A lot of us were having conversations about how it was going nowhere, but we were afraid to say too much in case it got back to Micheál,” they said. 

On yesterday’s presidential debate on RTÉ, Gavin struggled to give an account of himself.

One minister said this morning: “Once I saw clips from [This Week in Politics] I knew it was only a matter of hours”.

“WTAF” was the reaction from another Fianna Fáil insider, while another said Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, who acted as Gavin’s director of elections, would have to be front and centre today with an explanation – “budget or no budget.” (The budget is tomorrow.)

And to be fair to Chambers, he was out of the traps early.

Appearing on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland before 9 am, he said he was “extremely disappointed, like many in the party, about what has emerged”.

“Clearly the fact that this was not disclosed reflects why Jim Gavin made the decision that he made,” the Fianna Fáil deputy leader said.

One Fianna Fáil TD’s assessment of that interview: “Jack on Morning Ireland reversing over Jim’s carcass.”

Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews shared a similar sentiment on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne show this morning: “I really wouldn’t like to see him thrown under the bus.”

He said Chambers implied this morning that the party was misled about matters surrounding the controversy surrounding Gavin. He thought Chambers’ takedown “unfortunate”. 

While there will be differences of opinion within the party on what happens next, many shared the same sentiment. They felt sorry, on a personal level, for Jim Gavin, but there were clearly questions to be answered about the rental property. 

Another widely shared view is that there was a failure in the party’s vetting process. 

What does it mean for Micheál Martin’s leadership?

“This is a disaster for the party,” one TD said. 

“It’s a calamity. Michéal first off needs to apologise to the members,” they said.

It was no secret that Gavin was handpicked as the party’s candidate by the Fianna Fáil leader to contest the election.

That decision caused considerable discontent within the party, with significant backing given to MEP Billy Kelleher when he went up against Gavin for the nomination. 

Ultimately, Kelleher was unsuccessful, securing 29 votes to Gavin’s 41 – but the view that the party needed to change its internal processes was already clearly there at that stage.

Now that Martin’s political gamble has not paid off, that discontent has been turbocharged.

The Journal understands Martin has been hitting the phones this morning, in an effort to smooth things over with his parliamentarians.

Speaking on Morning Ireland earlier today, Kelleher held back from criticising his party leader but said that there had been a “very serious miscalculation” and that decisions that were made “must have consequences”. 

Likewise, Kelleher’s colleague in Brussels, MEP Barry Andrews, played down suggestions that Martin’s leadership was now in question.

Speaking privately, however, other parliamentary party members were less generous to their leader.

“There’s talk already about a heave,” one person claimed. “There are 29 votes there who voted for Billy, even more there who would be pissed off after this.”

Will Fianna Fáil now back Heather Humphreys? 

The party appears to be split on the question of whether it should now throw its weight behind the other government party candidate, Heather Humphreys of Fine Gael.

One TD said: “Definitely not.” 

Another said: “I doubt [support] will be formal, but it will happen anyway”.

The question is, with Fianna Fáil’s credibility significantly dented by this scandal, will Heather Humphreys want its support?

With reporting from Christina Finn