Mary Lou McDonald says allegations she used Hutch family for money and votes are ‘false’

Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that allegations she received money or electoral support from Gerard ‘The Monk’ Hutch were both “false” and “deeply offensive”.

In a statement issued after Mr Hutch’s acquittal by the Special Criminal Court on charges of murdering David Byrne, Ms McDonald has defended her own dealings with former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall saying he would not have been a member of Sinn Féin for one minute had she know the activities in which he was involved.

She also said she had never met Gerard Hutch.

Ms McDonald said she was using the conclusion of the trial as an opportunity to set the record straight in relation to her connections with Mr Hutch and Mr Dowdall, who was the key prosecution witness in the trial. Key parts of Mr Dowdall’s evidence were rejected by the three-judge court, led by Ms Justice Tara Burns.

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[ Gerard Hutch not guilty of the murder of David Byrne at Regency Hotel ]

“In relation to false and deeply offensive comments made about me during the course of this trial, I want to set out the facts,” said Ms McDonald.

“I have never met Gerard Hutch. I have never received money or electoral support from Gerard Hutch. The record shows that I have stood resolutely on the side of the community in the fight against criminal gangs, drug dealers and antisocial elements, and I will continue to do so.”

She continued: “Jonathan Dowdall should never have been a member of Sinn Féin. Had I known what he would become involved in he would not have been a party member for one minute, never mind running for public office – I would not tolerate that.”

The Sinn Féin leader’s political relationship with Mr Dowdall, a former councillor in her Dublin Central constituency, was placed under intense scrutiny during the course of the trial, especially when comments made by him about Ms McDonald and Sinn Féin (which were secretly recorded by gardaí) were played in court.

In the recording, Mr Dowdall claimed that Ms McDonald had used the Hutch family for money and votes. He also criticised her for not attending the funeral of Edward ‘Neddy’ Hutch, who was shot dead during the family’s feud with the Kinahan gang.

Ms McDonald rejected the allegations. Subsequently in the trial, Mr Dowdall said he regretted the comments and said they were “unfair”.

The Sinn Féin leader said: “The murder of David Byrne in 2016 was a brutal and callous crime. Today there were two successful convictions in relation to the shocking attack. I commend the gardaí and the courts for their work, and I know that the gardaí will not cease in their efforts until those responsible for the murder are brought to justice.”

She added: “I also know that the gardaí will continue to investigate and confront organised crime within the community and they have my and my party’s full and wholehearted support in this endeavour.

“The gardaí and the criminal justice system must continue to effectively and relentlessly target the organised crime bosses, their operations and their assets and be given all the resources and powers they need.

“We need targeted and substantial investment in community development, education and employment, particularly in those areas of our cities where organised crime gangs are recruiting members and where their malign influence has had a devastating effect on social cohesion.

Asked about Ms McDonald’s comments, Fianna Fáil spokesman on justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime that “nothing Mary Lou, or anyone in Sinn Féin says, can alter the fact that Jonathan Dowdall, who was convicted of facilitating the Regency murder that started this whole cycle of death, was a Sinn Féin councillor on Dublin City Council up to February 2015. Sinn Féin selected him for the 2014 local elections, they promoted him and he ran under the Sinn Féin banner.

“They may say that at the time of the Regency murder he was no longer a Sinn Féin councillor but again, nothing she says can alter the fact that when he was an active Sinn Féin councillor in January 2015, he brutally tortured and threatened to kill a man called Alexander Hurley and he was subsequently convicted of that offence.”

He said that “every time a party selects a candidate to run for them in the local elections or a general election they do inquiries in respect to that candidate. What Mary Lou and what Sinn Féin need to say is what inquiries did they do in respect of Jonathan Dowdall before he was selected by them as their candidate in 2014.”

Minister for Justice Simon Harris responded to the acquittal of Gerard Hutch by saying he had noted the judgments of the Special Criminal Court today.

Earlier in its judgment, the court convicted Paul Murphy (61), of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin, and Jason Bonney (50), Drumnigh Woods, Portmarnock, Dublin, on the lesser charges of facilitating the attack by making vehicles available to a criminal organisation.

“The judiciary are, under the Constitution, independent in the exercise of their functions,” he said.

Mr Harris said the An Garda Síochána’s investigation into the murder and events at the Regency Hotel on February 5th 2016 remained “live and is continuing”.

“An Garda Síochána has made significant progress in tackling gangland crime in recent years, and the Government and I will continue to support them in their efforts,” he added.

In his interview, Mr O’Callaghan also praised the Garda and while he raised the issue of whether Hutch might initially have also been charged with other offences as well murder, he said he did not think it would happen now.

“I think it would be unlikely that further charges, lesser charges, will be brought when the major charge has been brought against him, there’s been a full hearing and he’s been acquitted of that, but I don’t know, it’s a matter the DPP may wish to consider.”

Professor of Law at the University of Galway, Tom O’Malley, who is also a senior counsel, told RTÉ: “If there’s one lesson to be learned, and no doubt this judgment will be teased over very, very carefully indeed, by all concerned… the gardaí, the prosecution and so forth… it is that great care that has to be taken when relying on the evidence of an accomplice.

“That applies in many cases but especially in a case like this, where as it now transpires, the accomplice in question turned out to be quite unreliable, and in many cases simply wasn’t telling the truth.

“Now, it may be that he was convincing at the outset when he was being questioned by the gardaí but certainly, in circumstances like this, great care has to be taken about relying on the evidence of an accomplice, unless there is independent evidence to back up what the accomplice is saying. And it appears the court wasn’t satisfied that there was any such independent evidence in this particular case.

Force satisfied

Also speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime, former Garda assistant commissioner Pat Leahy said the force would be satisfied with the role it had played in the case ahead of the trial.

“Their role is to collect and present all the available evidence presented to the DPP who will then decide whether or not he’s going to pursue a prosecution. And then it’s presented to the courts and the courts will challenge every aspect of that investigation, including how the evidence was obtained, and they’ll apply a standard to it.

“We can see from the court today, the ruling that came out, that the reliability of the key witness was the key feature coming out of it, they found them not to be reliable.

“So the guards really just have to do the job right. There is no emotional outcome at the end of it because if they do the job properly and the court finds one way or another, whether it’s an acquittal or whether it’s a guilty verdict, it shouldn’t affect the guards one way or the other.