When Pat Carey's name was mentioned as the politician at the centre of allegations of abuse dating back more than a quarter of a century, the reaction of his colleagues in Fianna Fáil, and indeed from other parties, was of shock and disbelief.

Once the allegation was circulated – and Carey’s name was bandied around this week in political circles – Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators said they could see that he would have no other choice but to step down.

The length of the statement, its robust nature and the strenuous denial by Carey may indicate his determination to deal with this head-on.

He has maintained his innocence and also referred to how “distraught” he was to hear of the allegations and to have journalists calling to his house.

Carey was a relatively late entrant to politics, first being elected to the Dáil in the 1997 general election when he was 50.

He won a second Fianna Fáil seat in the the three-seat constituency of Dublin North West which he held on to until the Fianna Fáil collapse in 2011.

A native of Kerry, Carey (now 68) spent his earlier career as a school teacher, principal and community worker.

He was first elected to Dublin City Council in 1985 before making the breakthrough into national politics 12 years later.

As a Dáil deputy, his base was the Finglas area of the constituency, where he had worked for many years.

Softly-spoken and mild-mannered, he was a popular and respected figure and seen as very much a moderate within Fianna Fáil. When Bertie Ahern was taoiseach, his TDs had to serve a long apprenticeship before becoming junior ministers.

Carey was promoted after a decade and became minister of state for drugs. When Brian Cowen succeeded Ahern the following year, he was promoted to chief whip before becoming a full minister in the reshuffle of 2009 (he became Minister of the Gaeltacht and Community Affairs).

He was crestfallen after losing his seat in 2011 and said he took a long time to come to terms with the loss. He subsequently took up consultancy positions with a communications company, with the Institute for International and European Affairs and more recently became the chairman of the Irish Red Cross.

Late in his life Carey also came out as a gay man. In a radio interview this year he said he had only admitted his sexuality to himself in recent years and had been in a relationship for four years.

He campaigned actively in the same-sex marriage referendum earlier this year.

He first talked about his sexuality in an interview with Mary Minihan in The Irish Times.

“My only regret is that I didn’t have the courage or confidence to (come out earlier). When I look back it’s an awful pity I didn’t feel able to do that. Nobody stopped me, but I wasn’t sure how it would be received.”

His account of the loneliness his denial of his sexuality caused during most of his adult life struck a note with many people.

While maintaining that his political career was over, he still retained an involvement in Fianna Fáíl.

His status within the party was reflected by his appointment as director of elections for Fianna Fáil for the forthcoming general election.

For the moment, given the seriousness of any allegation of sexual abuse, Carey had no choice but to withdraw completely from public life.