Hutch and Kinahan peace talks break down
PEACE talks brokered to end the brutal killing feud between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs have broken down, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.
A mediator, who is ‘well respected’ by both sides in the feud – which has claimed 13 lives – has been quietly meeting members of the enemies since August 2016.
However, since the murder of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan’s son Kane McCormack by the Kinahan cartel in early December, the Hutch gang has refused to interact with the peacemaker.
A security source said: ‘At the moment, it has stalled. The problem is trust. There is very little of that between the two sides, particularly the Hutches. It is at a low point. It has hopefully not irreparably broken down.’
The Mail understands that a senior garda made the initial introduction between this peacemaker and representatives from both sides. But now he has been ‘left to do his best’ by gardaí, who are kept informed but are not involved in the negotiations.
It has been the intermediary’s role to pass messages between the rival gangs.
The Hutch gang previously broke off negotiations for several weeks following the murder of family friend Noel Kirwan in west Dublin on December 22, 2016.
However, a number of months after this murder, talks ‘tentatively resumed’, with the intermediary meeting again with representatives of both sides in the first quarter of last year.
More discussions followed over the course of the year.
But the fatal shooting of McCormack, five weeks ago, has again led to a ‘breakdown’ in talks. McCormack was shot dead because he repeatedly swore to take vengeance for his father’s murder.
Senior gardaí were given an update over Christmas by the intermediary, it is understood. The next step, if the talks re-start, is a sit-down between low-level members of each side to see if they can come to any common ground for a potential temporary ceasefire.
Money could be demanded by either side in order to stop the shootings, a source explained.
A source said: ‘The eventual aim is a sit-down between the two main men, Gerry Hutch and Daniel Kinahan. We are a long way off that and may never get there. What we hope will happen next is that both sides will re-engage with the intermediary.
‘Gardaí do not in any way presume this is going to work. Both sides are still trying to actively murder each other. The Kinahans are clearly winning, being responsible for eleven of the 13 murders. But all this fighting has been very bad for the Kinahan business.
‘People can scoff at peace talks, and they do, but with 13 dead, why would we not try everything possible to end the bloodshed?’