Hutch and Dowdall met man caught with Regency rifles, surveillance garda tells trial

At the Special Criminal Court trial of Gerard Hutch, charged with the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on 5 February 2016, surveillance gardaí provided testimony regarding meetings and movements in County Donegal in the weeks following the fatal shooting. A National Surveillance Unit officer told the court that on 20 February he observed Hutch and former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall as passengers in a vehicle that reversed into a parking space at Forest Park in the Killygordon area. The witness stated that Dowdall placed a black holdall into his Toyota Land Cruiser before Hutch entered the vehicle. At that location, they met Shane Rowan, who would later be apprehended driving an Insignia containing three AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition. A second NSU officer testified that on 9 March, shortly before Rowan's interception, he believed he observed Patrick Hutch Senior travelling in convoy with Rowan. Rowan was subsequently convicted and imprisoned for seven and a half years in July 2016 for possession of the rifles used in the Regency attack. The court heard evidence that Hutch and Dowdall had travelled together to Northern Ireland on multiple occasions during this period, with recordings made during a 7 March journey in which the accused allegedly discussed the Regency attack and referenced weapons supplied to republicans. Hutch, aged 59 and from Clontarf, Dublin, denies murdering Byrne. His co-accused Paul Murphy and Jason Bonney deny charges relating to their alleged involvement in or facilitation of the attack. The trial continued at the Special Criminal Court, which heard evidence spanning vehicle movements, surveillance footage, and recorded conversations relating to the events surrounding the shooting.