Gerard Hutch defence raises questions over possible tracker use

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Gerard Hutch’s murder trial was continuing when his defence raised questions about whether a vehicle had been tracked across the border into Northern Ireland. The proceedings were reported on 2 November 2022.

Hutch was accused of murdering David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on 5 February 2016. On the tenth day of the trial, defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC said it would be illegal if a tracker was placed on a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by Jonathan Dowdall and used outside the State. Hutch was allegedly a passenger.

Mr Grehan said the defence had made no headway in establishing whether a tracker was used. It also wanted to know how inquiries for CCTV footage from Northern Ireland had come about. The court had seen footage allegedly showing Dowdall and Hutch at two locations on 20 February 2016.

Prosecutor Mr Gillane said he was proving where footage shown to the court came from and that privilege issues would be dealt with. At the close of proceedings, he said the prosecution would address privilege matters by the end of the following week, with substantial progress subject to court rulings.

Ms Justice Tara Burns also told the prosecution it had to examine every redaction in documents disclosed to the defence. The case continued.