Eddie Hutch killing: man arrested in connection with fatal shooting in 2016

The taxi driver brother of Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch was killed in Poplar Row, Dublin 3 which was seen as a reprisal for the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel days earlier

A man has been arrested in connection with the shooting of Eddie Hutch, brother of Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch, in 2016.

The deceased father and taxi driver, who was aged in his 50s when he was shot dead, was then the latest victim of an ongoing feud between a gang loyal to murdered criminal Gary Hutch and one led by international drugs trafficker Christy Kinahan.

On Thursday afternoon, gardaí said they had arrested a man in his 40s in connection with the fatal shooting which occurred on Poplar Row in Dublin 3 on February 8th, 2016.

He is being detained for questioning under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 at a Garda station in North Dublin.

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Although known to gardaí, Eddie Hutch was linked to mostly minor crimes and was not a gangland figure. He was not regarded as being violent or criminally active.

The 59-year-old’s killing was seen as a reprisal for the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel days earlier.

He was targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau in the 1990s over allegations he helped his brother launder the proceeds of robberies.

Mr Hutch’s murder occurred despite additional armed Garda checkpoints and patrols put in place to quell rising feud related violence around Dublin at the time.

Four men burst into his home in the north inner city and shot him several times leaving him dead in the hallway of the house at about 7.45pm. He died immediately from his injuries.

Shortly afterward efforts were made to set fire to a car close to the crime scene, believed to have been used by the killers.

Several items including balaclavas and a can of petrol were found in the silver BMW which was abandoned at St Patrick’s Parade, Drumcondra.

Their nephew, drug dealer and armed robber Gary Hutch (34), was shot dead in Spain in 2015. He had been a member of the Spain-based drugs cartel led by Christy Kinahan and was killed as a suspected informer.

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times