Three men pleaded guilty to Patrick Hutch murder plot

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

Ciaran O'Driscoll, Stephen Curtis and Michael Burns pleaded guilty to helping a criminal organisation murder Patrick 'Patsy' Hutch in Dublin. The proceedings were reported on 29 May 2020.

The three men appeared at a sentence hearing at the Special Criminal Court on 29 May 2020. They were due to be sentenced the following month.

The court heard that the failed plot targeted Mr Hutch, the brother of the leader of the rival Hutch gang. O'Driscoll was to watch for Mr Hutch leaving home and contact the hit team. Burns supervised logistics, including cars and phones, and passed on instructions. Curtis took part in sub-cell meetings and bought phones and SIM cards.

Curtis was recorded expressing reservations about the man said to be in charge of the attempted murder and saying he wanted to leave the gang. Gardaí intervened on the day of the planned murder and saved Mr Hutch's life.