RTÉ drops 'Dutchy' Holland invite

An invitation to appear on RTÉ's Late Late Show on Friday to the man named in court as having shot dead Veronica Guerin has been withdrawn by RTÉ's editorial board against the wishes of host Pat Kenny, The Irish Times has learned.

The decision to withdraw the invitation to Patrick Eugene "Dutchy" Holland was made yesterday morning and immediately communicated to Holland, who is due for release from prison this week.

Sources in Montrose said the decision by the board was almost without precedent and that host Pat Kenny was "very disappointed".

"It's a big story, a once-in-a-lifetime decision" said an RTÉ source.

A spokeswoman for RTÉ television confirmed a request to interview Holland had been lodged by the Late Late Show with RTÉ's editorial board. However, the board had decided it was "not in the public interest for the interview to go ahead at this time". The mooted interview had always been "contentious".

Holland will be released from Portlaoise Prison as early as today after having completed a 12-year sentence, less a remission period, for possession of cannabis.

A source close to Holland, who has been involved in serious crime for 30 years, last night said news of the withdrawal of the invitation had been communicated to him through his legal adviser, Giovanni Di Stefano.

Mr Di Stefano, who has represented Saddam Hussein, had also been due to appear on the programme with Holland. Holland (66), who was a member of the John Gilligan drugs gang, was originally sentenced to 20 years but this was reduced in 1998 to 12 years after he appealed the sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal. An appeal of his conviction was rejected at that time.

During Holland's trial, Garda Marion Cusack, who arrested him, stated her belief that he was the man who shot dead journalist Veronica Guerin in Dublin on June 26th, 1996.