Gardaí had no evidence to support Jonathan Dowdall's allegation that Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch had "effectively confessed" to murdering Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne at the Regency Hotel other than the ex-Sinn Fein Councillor's "say so", a senior garda has told the Special Criminal Court.
At the opening of the trial, Sean Gillane SC said the State's case was that Mr Hutch had contacted Dowdall and arranged to meet him days after the shooting. Mr Gillane said the evidence would be that Mr Hutch told Dowdall that he was "one of the team" that murdered Mr Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.
Under cross-examination for a second day, defence lawyer Mr Brendan Grehan SC asked Detective Sergeant Patrick O'Toole why Dowdall had been originally charged with the murder of Mr Byrne. The detective said it had been on the direction of the DPP.
Mr Grehan put it to the witness that the DPP does not "pluck things out of the air" and that he presumed it was on the recommendation of gardaí that Dowdall had been charged with murdering Mr Byrne. There was evidence that would have pointed to a "prima facie" case against him for the prosecution, the witness replied.
Asked as to what that evidence was, the Det Sgt said it was "in relation to the booking of the room" at the Regency Hotel and the conversation between Dowdall and Mr Hutch in the Land Cruiser.
Changes in garda view
Mr Gillane objected when Mr Grehan asked the witness at what point did it change that Dowdall would no longer be charged with murder.
Rephrasing his question, Mr Grehan asked the witness if he was aware of "anything else changing in terms of the garda view" other than the fact that Dowdall had arranged to make a statement and give evidence. The detective said Dowdall had put context and given explanations of the conversation between himself and Mr Hutch in the car, that he had added new evidence that was not there before and that he had "filled in the gaps".
The conversations between Mr Hutch and Dowdall took place when they were allegedly travelling north to a meeting in Strabane in Co Tyrone on March 7th, 2016 in Dowdall's Toyota Land Cruiser, that had been bugged by garda detectives.
The prosecution's case is that Mr Hutch had asked Dowdall to arrange a meeting with his provisional republican contacts to mediate or resolve the Hutch-Kinahan feud due to the threats against the accused's family and friends.
Det Sgt O'Toole said on Tuesday that Dowdall's explanation for their conversation in the Land Cruiser was to have people meditate to prevent further persons being killed. He also said that Dowdall's explanation for some of what he said on the audio recording was down to "bravado" and that he was on medication for depression at the time.
'Act the hard man'
Mr Grehan put it to the witness that Dowdall told gardaí that he was also telling lies about anything that implicated him in criminality. "He claimed he was acting up to Gerard Hutch and trying to act the hard man," said the detective.
The barrister put it to the detective that he was willing to sign up to other "potential theories" including that Dowdall had somewhat "been used in the process". "That was one theory, yes," he replied.
"And that Dowdall had been asked to use his influence with any of his republican connections he had to try and quell the feud?" asked Mr Grehan. "Yes that is what he told us that Gerard Hutch had asked him to do in the park," replied Det Sgt O'Toole.
Mr Grehan told the witness that he himself had volunteered that Dowdall was sincere and genuine in what he had told gardaí. "Yes, he was under threat, his wife and children felt they had no other option than to leave the country," he said.
Counsel put it to the detective that there was not "a scintilla of other evidence" to support Dowdall's allegation that he met Mr Hutch on Richmond Road to hand over the key card on February 4th, 2016. Det Sgt O'Toole said this was correct other than that Dowdall's father was in the vehicle with him.
Mr Grehan told the witness that Dowdall's father Patrick Dowdall had not made a statement. "Yes, his testimony was that he was present when the cards were handed over to Gerard Hutch at that location," he replied.
The lawyer asked the detective if there was any other evidence "to support" Dowdall's allegation other than his [Dowdall's] "say so" that he had met Gerard Hutch in a park after a Sunday World article was published and that Mr Hutch had "effectively confessed" murder to him. The witness said there was not.
Dozens of people named
The next witness, Detective Garda Cathal Connolly who assisted the previous witness by taking notes of the meetings with Dowdall, agreed under cross-examination that Dowdall had mentioned dozens of people in the meeting on May 18th 2022 and said "serious criminal things about them".
The detective also agreed that Dowdall had also provided four names of individuals who "he believed were on the job".
Last Friday, Mr Grehan, for Mr Hutch, said he wished to raise an issue on the admissibility of evidence to be given by Dowdall on foot of the Supreme Court decision in DPP v Gilligan.
In the Gilligan case, the Supreme Court found that while the evidence of a witness in a protection programme is admissible, it should be excluded if the circumstances in which it came about fall below the fundamental standard of fairness.
Defence lawyer Brendan Grehan SC is challenging the admissibility of evidence to be given by Dowdall, who was a former co-accused of Gerard Hutch but has turned State's witness. Dowdall has already been sentenced by the non-jury court for the lesser offence of facilitating the murder.
The evidence is being heard as part of a voir dire - or ‘trial within a trial’ - to help the court's three judges determine its admissibility.
Mr Hutch (59), last of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin 3, denies the murder of David Byrne (33) during a boxing weigh-in at the hotel on February 5th, 2016.
Jonathan Dowdall (44) - a married father of four with an address at Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 7 - was due to stand trial for Mr Byrne's murder alongside Mr Hutch but pleaded guilty in advance of the trial to a lesser charge of facilitating the Hutch gang by making a hotel room available ahead of the murder.
Dowdall has been jailed by the Special Criminal Court for four years for facilitating the Hutch gang in the notorious murder of Mr Byrne.
The former Dublin councillor is currently being assessed for the Witness Protection Programme after agreeing to testify against former co-accused Gerard Hutch, who is charged with Mr Byrne's murder. Dowdall is expected to give evidence against his former co-accused Mr Hutch in the coming days.
His father Patrick was jailed for two years before the Regency trial started after he also admitted his part in booking a room for the raiders.
Mr Byrne, from Crumlin, was shot dead at the hotel in Whitehall, Dublin 9.
Mr Hutch's two co-accused - Paul Murphy (61), of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin and Jason Bonney (50), of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13 have pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5th, 2016.
The trial continues this afternoon before Ms Justice Tara Burns sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone.
