'We've all made mistakes in life'

Man feels sorry for Jim as he says no contact over debt

- BY MICHAEL O'TOOLE

CIVILISED Heather Humphreys, Catherine Connolly and Jim Gavin during a presidential debate

THE former tenant owed €3,300 by Jim Gavin says he feels sorry for him - and accepts he made a mistake in not paying him back.

Hours after Mr Gavin sensationally quit the race for the Aras over the unpaid debt to him from 2009, the man told this paper: “We've all made mistakes in life, so I do feel sorry for him in that way”

But he also said if Mr Gavin had fronted up and promised to pay the cash back as late as last Friday when the story emerged he would have accepted that.

The man said he feels Mr Gavin, a former Air Corps officer, was badly advised by Fianna Fail during the crisis in the campaign that erupted late last week when it emerged he owed him the money from 16 years ago.

The man told us: “I don't know what advice he got. If he'd rung me and tried to resolve it, and said ‘I meant to do it, and I never got around to it’, or whatever.

“I kind of blame Fianna Fail for that rather than him, because you can see he’s got his advice and they've told him what to do.

“Who wants to be held accountable for something they did all those years ago? I mean, I'm not sure I would like to be.

“So I feel sorry for him, but it is what it is.”

He also confirmed Mr Gavin had still not been in contact with him by yesterday afternoon - although the ex-Dublin GAA boss had promised in his statement on Sunday to fix his mistake.