Gerry Hutch’s mask has slipped again and, with it, the image he has carefully cultivated for himself – that of a working class hero who dragged himself out of the gutter with his bare hands.
The latest incident occurred at a media event to promote a new play about Hutch’s life, staged by Rex Ryan at Dublin’s Ambassador Theatre.
He was questioned by journalist Paul Healy, of The Star, about his criminal background. But Hutch – known as The Monk – was only there to promote himself and the play.
“I’m no leader of any crime gang. I was never in a crime gang,” a clearly agitated Hutch said. “I’ve no interest. I’m not going to answer it. Don’t ask me about gardaí ... This is a play. I’m not interested in gardaí ... If you ask me I’m just going to shut up.”
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He then asked Healy if he wanted to be “the second dying wasp”. That was a reference to a comment he made dismissing RTÉ correspondent Paul Reynolds’ line of dogged questioning at the 2024 general election RDS count centre.
But Hutch’s background, and especially his plan to run in the upcoming Dublin Central constituency byelection in May, mean his criminal past, and present, must be discussed.
He has carefully cultivated an image for himself as a victim. He sees himself as a working class man from a north inner city Dublin community abandoned by the State who turned to crime to feed himself before being jailed in Mountjoy men’s prison when he was still a child.
He believes he has been persecuted by the State, and then the Kinahan cartel, and the media. Furthermore, in Hutch’s mind, this is all happening to him even though – he insists – he was never involved in drugs and gives back his community, where he is regarded as a leader.
[ Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch says he plans to contest Dublin byelectionOpens in new window ]
But the evidence of the Garda, and the conclusions of cases taken against him, offer a very different perspective, even though he has avoided conviction and, often, prosecution.
Hutch is one of a very small number of criminals to be targeted twice by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) for the income he has derived from crime, and not paid tax on. Gardaí believe he was behind two major armed robberies in 1987 and 1996 netting £4.7 million (€6 million).
He was named in evidence in a Cab case in 2018 – taken against Kinahan associates – as the main protagonist, on the Hutch side, in the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
When he was cleared in 2023 of David Byrne’s 2016 murder, the Special Criminal Court still described Hutch as the leader of the Hutch family. It also concluded he was in control of the AK-47s after the Regency attack.
And even though several of his family members were murdered during the feud, his nephew – former Kinahan cartel member Gary Hutch – started the dispute by trying to kill Daniel Kinahan. Furthermore, the Hutch gang’s Regency Hotel attack put to bed any chance the feud might have been resolved before completely exploding.
Though Hutch tries to dismiss past events, he is also currently under investigation on a number of fronts – two in Ireland and one in Spain – as he braces for his second run at the Dáil.
He was arrested in Lanzarote on October 24th, 2024, as part of a criminal investigation into alleged money laundering on the island, where he spends much of his time. He was one of nine suspects arrested. Properties closely linked to him, in Lanzarote and Dublin, were among a large number of locations searched at the time.
It was alleged Hutch was a leader among the group. He was bailed, for €100,000, in early November, 2024. Though he has not been charged, the investigation into him is continuing in Spain.
Back home in Ireland, he stands accused of garnering confidential information from inside the Garda, via retired Garda superintendent John Murphy. Murphy’s home in Clontarf, close to Hutch’s family home, was searched in 2021 and cannabis valued at €260,000 was found. A file has been sent to the DPP and Hutch may be charged with serious offences arising from that inquiry, up to directing a crime organisation.
Last year, Hutch was also landed with a new demand from Cab, for alleged unpaid taxes, to the tune of almost €800,000. He appears to have no political views – none he has articulated. Gardaí believe ego and, perhaps, his anti-establishment outlook, rather than ideology, drive his desire to become a TD.
However, while his candidacy in 2024 was seen as something of a novelty, he got over 2,000 first preference votes and almost secured the final seat. Garda sources said they feared he will use Dáil privilege, if elected, to spread misinformation about the State. They also believe a small, but not insignificant, section of the public may prove susceptible.
“You cannot underestimate him,” said one. “He’s not the most articulate, and that might hold him back. Can he get a seat? Unlikely. But I wouldn’t put anything past him, I really wouldn’t.”
