‘I’m not a rat,’ Dowdall tells court

Former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall has denied he is a “rat” for giving evidence in the trial of Gerry “The Monk” Hutch for the murder of David Byrne.

On his third day giving evidence at the Special Criminal Court, Dowdall said he was there to tell the truth and that he does not care if he gets killed.

He also apologised to the family of Mr Byrne, adding that he was “not involved” in his killing.

Hutch is on trial over the murder of Mr Byrne, who was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in February 2016, in one of the first deadly attacks of the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud.

Hutch, from the Paddocks, Clontarf, has denied the charge of murder.

“I’m not a rat,” Dowdall told the court.

“But If I’m required to do more I’ll be here. I’ll give a commitment to that. No matter how much it destroys my life…I will do it.”

He added: “It’s nothing about getting a murder charge dropped.”

He told the court he had “trusted” Gerry Hutch’s brother Patsy.

“If someone asks me, I don’t question,” Dowdall said. “I trusted Patsy. There were years of built up things to trust. Then this happens. You keep pushing this all to Patsy.”

He added: “I don’t care if I’m killed.

“Nobody would touch my children.

“If I’ve to come in and give evidence against Patsy I’ll do it.

“Gerard’s the one who got the cards, Patsy got me to book the room, and I met Gerard in the park.

“That’s the gospel honest truth.”

He also told the court on Wednesday: “I’m sorry for what happened to David Byrne and that family.

“And I’m sorry for what I said to offend that family.

“But I wasn’t involved in that murder.”

Dowdall, who was to stand trial for murder, is serving a four-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of Mr Byrne.

He agreed to turn state witness and is expected to enter a witness protection programme.

Dowdall admitted facilitating the murder of Mr Byrne after he helped book a room at the hotel used by one of the gunmen.

Earlier, senior counsel for Hutch, Brendan Grehan had pressed Dowdall over his IRA connections and how he came to become the “go-to guy” if someone wants to contact paramilitaries.

He described Dowdall as the “man with fairly heavy republican contacts”.

Dowdall denied he had heavy republican contacts, adding: “I wasn’t involved in dissident republicans if that’s what you’re trying to insinuate.”

On Wednesday morning the court heard Dowdall had been “set up” and that the Hutch family were willing to “throw people under the bus” following Byrne’s murder.

He also said that Gerard Hutch was also “willing to throw his own brother under the bus”.

Pressed by Mr Grehan, Dowdall agreed that the only evidence that Hutch had “confessed” in a Dublin park to the murder of Mr Byrne was from himself.

Dowdall also said it was only natural that he would want the murder charge against him dropped for testifying against Hutch.

“I wasn’t involved in a murder,” he said.

“Why would I take the blame for a murder I wasn’t involved in.”

Dowdall also told the court he was in a “bad place” due to the pressure he was being put under and that he had attempted suicide.

“I was in a bad place. At that time,” he said.

“I tried to take my own life, I was found by hotel staff … I was brought to the hospital unresponsive.”

He then spent a period of time in hospital, he told the court, adding that the gardai were aware of this.

The court heard that Dowdall, who was being cross-examined by senior counsel Brendan Grehan, was “disgusted and ashamed” by his “bravado” talk revealed in secret Garda recordings.

Dowdall said the discussion with Hutch where he outlined planning a bomb was “only talk” and that “people say things all the time”.

Mr Grehan said the Garda recording of a car journey “clearly suggests” Dowdall was involved with planning to plant a bomb under a man’s home “to kill him”.

“Is that not right?” he asked Dowdall.

“I wasn’t planning anything … It was crap talk, it was bravado, it was s***e talk. Nothing happened.”

Mr Grehan put it to Dowdall that it sounded like he was involved.

“People talk stuff that they don’t mean a lot of times,” Dowdall replied.

“It’s terrible talk … I would never have done that. It was bravado talk. It was disgusting bravado talk,” he added.

Wednesday’s proceedings began with presiding judge Ms Justice Burns warning the public not to record the court proceedings.

Prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane told the hearing he had been made aware of videos recorded in the overflow court that were circulating on social media.

Ms Justice Burns said she was “surprised” and reminded those in both the courtroom and the overflow courtroom that “it is an offence to record proceedings anywhere within any courtroom”.

“It’s absolutely prohibited,” the judge said, adding that she was “warning people that it is not to occur”.

The trial continues.