Armed gardaí on streets for Hutch funeral
ARMED checkpoints, bomb sweeps and Garda marksmen on roofs are all part of the security operation during today’s funeral of Eddie Hutch Snr.
The murdered brother of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch will be laid to rest, and over 100 gardaí will be on duty in north inner-city Dublin.
Bomb sweeps of Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Seán McDermott Street, Glasnevin cemetery, floral bouquets and Lowry’s pub in Summerhill Parade where mourners will gather will also be carried out by gardaí.
There will also be armed marksmen on some rooftops and as well as a bomb sweep of the funeral route. Gardaí say they ‘do not expect’ members of the Kinahan crime cartel involved in feuding to target the Hutch funeral but ‘no chances are being taken’.
Armed checkpoints will be in situ in the vicinity of Lowry’s pub as well as various parts of the north inner city and Ballybough. The remains of the fatherof-five, who was not involved in the current feuding, will leave his sister Margaret’s home on Portland Row in Dublin 1 at 10am.
Several limos are expected to follow the hearse to Our Lady of Lourdes Church, where the removal and funeral
‘Plotting revenge killings’
will take place beginning at 10.50am.
Burial will take place at Glasnevin cemetery. This entire procession will be closely monitored by gardaí.
Garda intelligence suggests feuding criminals on both sides are plotting further revenge killings, it is understood.
However the heavy Garda presences at today’s funeral is expected to prevent any potential violence.
Mr Hutch, 58, was shot dead on February 8 at his home on Poplar Row in Ballybough. The murder was in direct retaliation for the killing of Kinahan gang member David Byrne, 33, at Dublin’s Regency Hotel three days earlier.
Byrne was a senior lieutenant for the Kinahan crime cartel, which is controlled by Christy ‘Dapper Don’ Kinahan.
Byrne’s death came after Gary Hutch, the Monk’s nephew, was shot dead in Spain last September after falling out with the Kinahan cartel. The Monk is expected to be one of the chief mourners at his brother Eddie’s funeral.
He is a prime target for the Kinahan crime cartel. His brother was targeted because he was seen as a ‘soft target’ by hitmen, as he was not involved in active criminality.
It is understood that Daniel and Chris Kinahan Jnr still remain in Dublin fol- lowing Monday’s funeral. The brothers – as well as a senior member of the Kinahan crime syndicate including ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson and associate Liam Roe – are all wearing bulletproof vests 24/7 since their friend’s funeral.
A source said: ‘People think the Kinahans are bigger and more powerful. But they are very aware of the capabilities of the Hutch gang and their associates. They are not taking any chances in terms of their own personal safety. Daniel and Chris are going around Dublin in their bulletproof vests, on the insistence of their father in Spain.’
Senior sources say there are fears the gangland tensions between both sides could escalate after today’s funeral.
A new policing strategy will be rolled out this weekend, including searches linked to the two murders and tentative steps towards brokering peace between the warring factions. A senior source said: ‘It is after the funerals that the real problems could kick off.’