Tyrone GAA star reveals how Gardaí investigated his meeting with a 15-year-old Tinder match from Kildare

Tyrone football star Cathal McCarron has revealed the details surrounding the Garda investigation into his involvement with a 15-year-old Kildare girl after meeting her on Tinder.

The former All-Star nominee will release his autobiography next week, and he discusses the events that lead to him being questioned by Gardaí following his meeting with the teenager from Kildare Town.

McCarron is a well-known public figure due to his off the field issues that have been discussed in public. He appeared in a gay pornography video on the internet in 2014, while he has also battled a gambling addiction.

The 28-year-old said that he thought the girl was at least 19 before he met her, and that she was sending him pictures of a car that she said was her own. He was attending a Gamblers Anonymous meeting in Athy one evening, which is when he decided to meet the young girl.

"The girl said she drove an old-style Jaguar. She sent me a picture of the car. It was harmless online chat," he said.

"When we met, she looked at least 19 or 20."

McCarron soon found out that she was lying about her age, and the Dromore clubman received a phone call from the girl's father two weeks after their meeting. Gardaí then became involved, and McCarron was asked to come into Kildare Town Garda Station for questioning.

He also speaks of his relationship with his girlfriend in the book, Niamh Delahunty, who he was going out with at the time of the incident.

"I don't know what it is with me, but sometimes I just can't help myself from pressing the self-destruct button. It's not an excuse, but it is part of my addiction," he said.

"She means the world to me but, like most men, I love looking at beautiful women. I always have," he said of Niamh.

"I was on Tinder. I had no need to be near that service but I was. Why? Temptation. Curiosity. The hunt for a high that gambling normally provided."

There were no charges brought against McCarron, and the DPP informed him in July that they would not be pursuing the matter.