..AS DOWDALL ADMITS ROLE IN HOTEL HIT Father and son plead guilty to lesser charge
In April last year, former Sinn Fein councillor Dowdall (44) was charged at the non-jury court with the murder of Mr Byrne at the north Dublin hotel.
He is still listed to go on trial for that alleged offence alongside other co-accused men, who are all charged in connection with the murder of Mr Byrne from Crumlin, at the threejudge Special Criminal Court on Monday, October 3, 2022.
But yesterday at the nonjury court, Dowdall and his father Patrick both pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of Mr Byrne at the hotel.
Both men answered “guilty” when the charges were read to them. Both pleaded guilty to participating in or contributing to activity intending to, or being reckless as to whether such participation or contribution could facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members, by making a room available at the Regency Hotel, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 for that criminal organisation or its members, within the State on February 4, 2016.
Both men are on bail but Jonathan Dowdall was led away from the court by gardai via a secure area and did not use the main public entrance.
Byrne was shot dead at the hotel after five men, three disguised as armed gardaí, stormed the building, which was hosting a boxing weigh-in at the time.
Nephew
A nephew of Gerry Hutch, Patrick Hutch, walked free from the Special Criminal Court in 2019 after charges against him for the murder of Mr Byrne at the Regency Hotel were dropped by the State. Patrick Hutch (28) of Champions Avenue, Dublin 1, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Byrne. Co-accused Paul Murphy (59) of Cabra Road is charged with supplying logistical support to a six-man team suspected of carrying out the murder.
Jason Bonney (50), of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13, is facing the same charges and in addition he is charged with providing access to individual motor vehicles for the criminal organisation and its individual members.