TYRONE FOOTBALLER CATHAL McCarron was involved in a tense interview on Off the Ball tonight.

In a lengthy discussion with presenter Ger Gilroy, McCarron discussed his gambling issues and various other problems that have impacted him in recent years.

It was when his alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl who he met on Tinder was brought up that the interview became increasingly tense.

McCarron, an All-Ireland winner and former All-Star nominee, was repeatedly asked about his perceived lack of remorse shown towards the girl, while he was also quizzed over reports that he described himself as a “victim” after his book launch was cancelled.

A frustrated-sounding McCarron pointed out that he wasn’t prosecuted over the incident, while continually emphasising that he was legally obliged to keep quiet about certain issues surrounding the matter…

Gilroy: I can’t get behind somebody who’s involved with the incident and who deals with the aftermath of the incident in the way that you’ve done. We were contacted by the father and asked not to speak to you. There’s been a delay in getting you on the show and people were wondering why we haven’t had you on considering the high-profile nature of the book. What’s your take on that now?

McCarron: I have solicitors in place and they’ve advised me not to talk about the incident. It’s not fair for me to come out and talk about anything that’s gone on out of respect for both parties.

GG: We have a statement from the family. “As a family, we have been deeply impacted by Cathal McCarron’s actions. My daughter has been damaged and affected. We feel he has never shown any remorse for his actions. In his autobiography and in subsequent newspaper interviews, he was afforded the opportunity to say how remorseful he was for his actions but he failed to do so. We also wanted to point out that he used the Irish version of his name on Facebook, which one must assume was to disguise his identity. Due to his well-publicised role in a pornography film, we had to have a test done for HIV and AIDS and wait for the longest few weeks of our life. In this life, we all have to be responsible and accountable for our actions and no matter what the outcome shall be, the family hope that he will be held accountable for those actions.” What’s your response, Cathal?

CM: No response. That’s all I’m going to say about that

GG: You’ve no response?

CM: I don’t, no… All I’m going to say is I was fully investigated by the law of Ireland and there was no prosecution. There was a reason why there was no prosecution.

GG: Do you know why there was no prosecution? Because of the ‘honest mistake’ defence. It’s our understanding that the DPP didn’t bring charges because they accepted the defence of ‘honest mistake’ but they do also accept that you had sex with this girl. That’s a fact, is it?

CM: No, it’s not a fact. And I’ll not be commenting on it anymore.

GG: So you didn’t have sex with her?

CM: No comment.

GG: We’re in a difficult situation because everyone wants to support the story of a man who recovers his life, who becomes a taxpayer and a citizen, but then you called yourself a ‘victim’ because you had a book launch cancelled. You don’t see yourself as a victim, do you?

CM: No, you see that was the headline taken up. What I said is that I had family friends who had been coming from different parts of the world, I’ve been through a hell of a lot these last three years and for you or anybody, you’ll never understand what I’ve been through. To try and take your own life, to being on the edge of taking your own life to not. Don’t tell me you understand. If you haven’t ever been to there, you’ll never understand.

GG: What does that have to do with the 15-year-old?

CM: You’re asking me: ‘Was I a victim?’ I wanted to have all that time with people I loved and to be honest, when I released a book, I didn’t care about the publicity or doing the PR. All I wanted was that night with my family and friends, and it was taken away from me.

GG: But you can still have a night with your family and friends. You’re not actually a victim though. Do you feel you are still a victim?

CM: No. Did I say that?

GG: You said in an interview on Balls.ie that you were a ‘victim’. So you don’t think you’re a victim?

CM: I’m not talking about this anymore, we’ll have to move on.

GG: We have to talk about this. It’s a huge incident. The faith we’ve had in you, it’s hard to get that back when you’re on a website meeting a girl who it turns out is 15 and there’s no sense of remorse. You haven’t expressed remorse yet to the girl?

CM: I said on an interview that I felt very sorry for the family and the father.

GG: Do you feel sorry for the girl?

CM: I’m not talking about this. I’ve been advised by my solicitor to not talk about it. If you want to talk about it, I’m not going to speak.

GG: I guess we should probably leave it then. It’s a huge part of the book that you’re now not going to speak about it?

CM: If I’ve been legally advised not to speak about it, I’m not going to speak about it.

GG: Do you feel you’re redeemed?

CM: The day I’m redeemed is the day I probably die and my programme will be complete then. Until then, I’m far from redeemed.

GG: I don’t fully understand writing about this incident and then not wanting to speak about it.

CM: That’s just the way it is.

The full interview is available here on the Newstalk player.

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