Jonathan Dowdall had originally been charged with the same offence of murdering David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.
Jonathan Dowdall had originally been charged with the same offence of murdering David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.
He later pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of facilitating the murder by renting a room in the hotel and testifed against Hutch at the Special Criminal Court.
Sunday World sources said the former Sinn Fein Dublin city councillor has now been released from Limerick Prison after serving the four-sentence year he got in 2022.
The 47-year-old joins a small group of people in the Witness Security Programme which, for good reason, is shrouded in secrecy.
News in 90 Seconds – Thursday, October 16
There are probably just a few dozen people on the programme and their families who gave evidence against dangerous criminals.
There are other people on the programme who co-operated with gardaí but were not called on to give evidence, for instance in cases where a defendant pleaded guilty.
The programme is run by the gardaí have agreements with forces in other jurisdictions and which can also see foreign protected witnesses setting up a new life in Ireland.
Dowdall gave evidence at the Special Criminal Court where Hutch stood accused of murder after being jailed and was taken to court to give evidence under heavy security.
While Hutch was acquitted by the non-jury court Dowdall remained serving his time until this week on the D1 landing in Limerick isolated from other inmates.
Dowdall was convicted of handing over the key of a Regency Hotel room to a member of the Hutch gang before Byrne’s murder.
However, his testimony in the Hutch trial proved ineffective.
Gerry Hutch leaves court after his acquittal in the Regency trial. Photo: Mark Condren
Ms Justice Tara Burns delivered the judges’ excoriating verdict on Dowdall’s account of The Monk’s involvement in David Byrne’s murder.
She said the court had to take his truthfulness about Gerard Hutch with “scepticism and extreme care”.
Dowdall had acted out of “his own self-interest” and that it could not have been said he had found God or decided to do the right thing.
He then lost an appeal against the conviction in which he said CCTV footage of him should not have been admitted in court.
The three-judge panel described his four-year sentence as lenient taking into his account his previous offence in which he tortured a man.
Dowdall jr served just under six years in prison for the torture ordeal he inflicted on his victim after his original 12-year sentence was reduced to eight on appeal.
He was previously taken from Wheatfield Prison by gardaí on his release in April 2022, before being imprisoned again in October that year.
The torture incident came to light when gardaí investigating the Regency shootings found a video clip of Dowdall waterboarding a man in a raid on his Cabra home.
He had been a serving member of Dublin City Council at the time of the torture incident having been elected in May 2014 on a Sinn Fein ticket before resigning in February 2015.
He had previously complained he had been the target of disparaging rumours which he found very stressful before eventually giving up his seat.
The body of David Byrne is taken from the Regency Hotel. Photo: Collins
The father of four who ran a successful business is originally from Dublin’s north inner-city and had initially been seen as a potential rising star within Sinn Fein.
In the immediate aftermath of the 2016 raid Dowdall jr spoke on Liveline in which he told Joe Duffy “life is upside down at the moment.”
He said his home was raided in search of guns and explosives but denied any involvement in criminality.
The Sunday World recently revealed how one-time feud enemies Fat Freddie Thompson and Dowdall were enjoying friendly chats with each other behind bars.
The two were talking through their cell doors despite Dowdall being convicted of a playing a role in the murder of David Byrne, Fat Freddie’s cousin, according to sources.
Now it’s apparent Fat Freddie will have to find someone else to talk to.