Courts / Dublin / Report

Dowdall tells Hutch barrister he 'lied out of necessity'

Summary

At the Special Criminal Court, Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Fein councillor, admitted to lying 'out of necessity' when questioned by gardai about his involvement in the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel. Dowdall, who pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder by booking a hotel room for one of the perpetrators, was sentenced to four years in prison for this charge. He stated that he lied to protect his family, claiming they would have been targeted if he had revealed the truth. During cross-examination, Dowdall's defence barrister, Brendan Grehan SC, suggested that Dowdall had been 'very indignant and convincing when telling lies' in his interviews with gardai. Dowdall also testified that he did not know the extent of Gerard Hutch's criminal activities and had no prior knowledge of the murder. Gerard Hutch, who is accused of participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles, pleaded guilty to the charges. Patrick Dowdall, Jonathan's father, was previously jailed for two years for his role in booking the hotel room. Paul Murphy and Jason Bonney, who are accused of providing access to motor vehicles, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case is currently in the sentence stage, with no adjournments or finalisations reported.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Dowdall tells Hutch barrister he 'lied out of necessity'. Charges or matters: participating in or contributing to activity intending to or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, to wit the murder of David Byrne, by making a room available at the Regency Hotel, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 for that criminal organisation or its members, within the State on February 4, 2016; participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on February 5, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• May 2016 Other
• February 8, 2016 Incident
• April 27, 2021 Incident
• October 3 Incident
• February 5, 2016 Other
• May 18 2016 Other
• February 8 Other
• February 4, 2016 Incident
• February 4 Incident
• February 5 Hearing Or Sentence
• January 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2022-12-15 Publication

Why: I respect Gerard because in the area, people could go to him. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report