Ex-Sinn Fein Councillor Says Irish Gangster Asked for Dissident Republican Help to End Underworld Feud

An artist's sketch of the scene as Jonathan Dowdall (centre, by microphone) gives evidence against Gerry Hutch (seated third from left) at a murder trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on Dec. 12, 2022. Elizabeth Cook/PA

A former Sinn Fein councillor has testified that alleged Irish gangland boss Gerry Hutch told him he was one of two men who killed an associate of underworld rival Daniel Kinahan at a boxing press conference in Dublin in 2016.

Hutch—who has been known as “The Monk” since murdered journalist Veronica Guerin gave him the moniker in the 1990s—is on trial for the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on Feb. 5, 2016.