Killing of David Byrne

Byrne had been investigated by every Garda specialist unit since he was a teenager.[5] He was present at the fatal stabbing of Declan Gavin in August 2001 in Crumlin, Dublin.[5] He was called as a witness in the trial of Brian Rattigan for the killing, but said he had seen nothing.[5]

David Byrne had been arrested many times and was a suspect in the murder of Gary Bryan in Walkinstown in 2006.[1]

In January 2016 Gardaí had a special policing plan put in place for the following month when two boxing events would be attended by members of a criminal gang associated with Christy Kinahan.[6] The Kinahan gang have a long association with boxing both in Dublin and Marbella.[7]

On 5 February 2016 there was to be a boxing match for the WBO European lightweight title between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio João Bento at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, Dublin. At the weigh-in there was an organised armed attack; the match was cancelled after the shooting.[8] There were at least four attackers with masks, army style-helmets and flak jackets, two of whom were disguised as members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit and armed with AK-47s. An associate of the Kinahan cartel, David Byrne (32) was shot dead; security sources said that the gang had intended to kill others. Two men were injured and taken to the Mater Private Hospital and Beaumont Hospital.[8]

After the attack, security camera recordings suggested that six people had been involved, including a man disguised as a woman.[9] The attackers escaped in a Ford Transit van which was later found burnt-out.[8]

Because of the length of time Byrne's body would be waked at his parents' house before the funeral, special security measures were put in place.[10] The funeral was held at the Church of St Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street.[10] Gardaí checked the church before and after the ceremony for explosives but the funeral passed without incident and the hearse went to Mount Jerome Cemetery.[10]

One line of investigation is that the shooting was in revenge for the murder of Gary Hutch in Spain in September 2015.[8]

Shortly after the shooting a call was placed to the BBC saying that the Continuity IRA had carried out the attack because Byrne had been involved in the killing of Alan Ryan four years before; however, the Continuity IRA later stated that it was not responsible.[11]

On 18 May 2016 Patrick Hutch, the brother of Gary Hutch, was charged at the Criminal Courts of Justice with the murder of David Byrne. There was no application for bail; the defendant was granted legal aid and remanded to appear in Clover Hill District Court on 25 May.[12][13] The trial of Patrick Hutch for murder and possession of firearms was later set for January 2018 at the non-jury Special Criminal Court; he was denied bail.[14] On 20 February 2019, all charges against Patrick Hutch were dropped and he walked free from court.[15]

In October 2019 the High Court ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions to provide transcripts of the collapsed trial to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.[16] Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin counciller, was subsequently charged with the Regency murder. [17]

In April 2021, Gerry Hutch became the subject of a European Arrest Warrant as Gardaí said they had enough evidence to charge him with murder in connection with the shooting of David Byrne.[18] The EAW was issued after the Director for Public Prosecutions moved that he be charged with murder and tried before the Special Criminal Court.[18] He is also likely to face other charges, such as attempted murder and possession of firearms.[18] An investigation file was submitted by Garda detectives based in Ballymun to the DPP late in 2020.[18]

In April 2021 three men appeared in court in relation to the shooting.[19] In August 2021 Gerry Hutch was arrested in Spain on foot of the European Arrest Warrant in connection with the shooting.[20][21][22] In September 2021 Gerry Hutch was extradited to the Republic of Ireland and charged with the murder of David Byrne.[23]

On September 28, 2022 both Jonathan Dowdall and his father Patrick pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne.[24]

On 3 October 2022 the Special Criminal Court was told that Jonathan Dowdall was willing to be a witness in the Regency shooting trial.[25] The trial was adjourned for a week.[25] Though Dowdall had been convicted of facilitating the murder, the charge of murder against him had been dropped.[25] Dowdall is under Garda protection and is being assessed for the witness protection programme.[25]

The hotel was renamed the Bonnington in October 2017.[26] The renaming had been considered before the shooting, but the process was accelerated after it.[26]

• Hutch–Kinahan feud