Sources have confirmed that the final preparations are in place for gardai to remove former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall from Limerick Prison in the coming days.
Former Sinn Fein councillor, Jonathan Dowdall
It will soon become illegal to reveal the whereabouts of State witness Jonathan Dowdall – as prison bosses brace for his release within a fortnight.
Sources have confirmed that the final preparations are in place for gardai to remove former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall from Limerick Prison in the coming days. It is understood prison authorities cannot hold Dowdall, who is serving a four year sentence for his role in the Regency Hotel shooting, any longer than the end of this month – as he will have served his time thanks to standard remission.
And sources say Dowdall was refused enhanced remission earlier this year – as the failed State witness pleaded to be released in the summer. However it is understood the final steps towards his witness protection had not been put in place by that time. The gravity of Dowdall’s offence also meant that he was not considered to be an eligible candidate for such remission.
It is understood Dowdall will be flown out of Ireland to another country, where he will assume a new identity, along with his family. Upon his release, it will become illegal under Irish law to reveal his new identity, or his location.
The taxpayer is funding Dowdall’s new life, which sources say will be ‘like for like’ to the one he lived here. He will also get to live off the money he earned from the sale of his home – 270 Navan Road in Dublin, which went for over €750,000. He will also be provided with a home and the means to get employment under his new alias.
Dowdall’s protection comes despite his ‘evidence’ in the Special Criminal Court of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch falling spectacularly on its face.
Gerry Hutch, left, and Jonathan Dowdall
The State was left red faced when Dowdall, who agreed to take the stand against Hutch, gave extraordinary and utterly unbelievable evidence which essentially saw the veteran criminal walk free. Presiding Judge Burns told the court that Dowdall suddenly “found God,” – and it was clear he stood to benefit by speaking to gardai.
Jonathan Dowdall leaving the special criminal court in Dublin with father Patrick Dowdall(Image: Collins Courts)
He claimed that he met with Gerry Hutch in a park in Whitehall two or three days after the Regency, and that The Monk confessed to the murder. However the judges completely rejected this evidence and said Dowdall was not a reliable witness who could be trusted. Dowdall had pleaded for his murder charge to be dropped and in fact it was, in place for a facilitation charge, before he gave evidence in the trial of Hutch.
He was then to be considered for the Witness Protection Programme on the basis of an ongoing threat to his life. Dowdall had claimed his life was over once he turned State witness, but insisted he was telling the truth about Hutch. The disgraced former councillor, who previously served prison time for waterboarding a man in his Navan Road home, was jailed again for his role in helping to book the hotel room for Regency shooter Kevin ‘Flat Cap’ Murray.
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He was jailed to Limerick Prison, where he spent the majority of his sentence on the ‘D’ landing in solitary confinement. Dowdall has been locked up for 23 hours a day and was only granted an hour out on the landing for exercise every day. He was not allowed to mix with any of the general prison population during his stay. In recent times he has shared the landing with infamous prisoners Barbie Kardashain – and even Kinahan cartel killer Freddie Thompson. His father Patrick Dowdall served a two year sentence for his role in facilitating the murder, by booking the hotel room.
In her summary of the judgement, Ms Justice Tara Burns stated that Jonathan Dowdall would no doubt be able to rebuild his life. The former councillor claimed that no matter the outcome he would do so, and claimed that he didn’t care if he was killed – so long as his family was safe.
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