Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch remanded in custody at Special Criminal Court

Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch, who is charged with the murder of Kinahan gang member David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016, has been further remanded in custody by the Special Criminal Court.

Mr Hutch’s case was listed for mention at the non-jury court on Wednesday but no application was made. The accused was not present in court and neither the defence nor the prosecution were represented.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said he was ordering Mr Hutch to be remanded in custody and that a further date could be made for an application if the accused so wished.

At a previous hearing, counsel for Mr Hutch, Brendan Grehan SC, told the three-judge court he was reserving his client’s position in relation to the lawfulness of his arrest, the charge brought against him and in respect of the jurisdiction of the court.

A trial date of October 3rd next has been fixed for Mr Hutch and four other co-accused, who are charged in connection with the murder of Mr Byrne.

On September 29th, Mr Hutch was brought to the non-jury court under heavy security just hours after a military plane flew him directly from Madrid, Spain to Casement Aerodrome, Dublin.

European Arrest Warrant

The High Court had earlier this year issued a European Arrest Warrant following an application from the Director of Public Prosecutions in respect of Mr Hutch.

Mr Byrne (34), from Crumlin, was shot dead at the hotel on the Swords Road in Dublin in February 2016 after five men, three disguised as armed gardaí, stormed the building, which was hosting a boxing weigh-in at the time.

Mr Hutch was extradited from Spain after his final appeal against extradition to Ireland was rejected by a Spanish Appeals Court on September 14th.

The 58-year-old, of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin 3, is charged with the murder of Mr Byrne, contrary to common law, at the Regency Hotel on the Swords Road, Whitehall, Dublin 9, on February 5th, 2016. He is the third man to be charged with the murder .

A nephew of Mr Hutch, Patrick Hutch, walked free from the Special Criminal Court in 2019 after charges against him for the murder of Mr Byrne were dropped by the State. The 28-year-old, of Champions Avenue, Dublin 1, had pleaded not guilty.

Former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall (43), with an address at Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 7, was last April charged at the non-jury court with the murder of Mr Byrne. He will go on trial alongside three other co-accused, who are charged in connection with the murder, at the Special Criminal Court next October.