David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

was shot dead on February 5, 2016 at the Regency Hotel in

Whitehall, Dublin Whitehall () is a Northside suburb of Dublin City, Ireland. Whitehall is a residential area on the northern outskirts of Dublin's inner city, located near the M1 motorway leading to Dublin Airport, Swords and Belfast. It's situated between ...

. It is believed by the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

that Daniel Kinahan, the son of Christy Kinahan, was the intended target, but had left early.

Background

Byrne had been investigated by every Garda specialist unit since he was a teenager. He was present at the fatal stabbing of Declan Gavin in August 2001 in

Crumlin, Dublin Crumlin () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Formerly a rural area, it became heavily built up from the early 20th century onwards. Crumlin is the site of Ireland's largest children's hospital, Our Lady's Children's Hospital. Location ...

. He was called as a witness in the trial of Brian Rattigan for the killing, but said he had seen nothing. David Byrne had been arrested many times and was a suspect in the murder of Gary Bryan in

Walkinstown Walkinstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland, six kilometres southwest of the city centre. It is surrounded by Drimnagh to the north, Crumlin to the east, Greenhills to the south, and Ballymount, Bluebell, and Clondalkin to the west. It ...

in 2006. In January 2016 Gardaí had a special policing plan put in place for the following month when two boxing events would be attended by members of a criminal gang associated with Christy Kinahan. The Kinahan gang have a long association with boxing both in Dublin and

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

Shooting

On 5 February 2016 there was to be a boxing match for the WBO European

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

title between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio João Bento at the Regency Hotel in

. At the weigh-in there was an organised armed attack; the match was cancelled after the shooting. There were at least four attackers with masks, army style-helmets and flak jackets, two of whom were disguised as members of the

Garda Emergency Response Unit The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) ( ga, Aonad Práinnfhreagartha) is the police tactical unit of the ''Garda Síochána'', Ireland's national police and security service. The unit was a section of the forces' Special Detective Unit (SDU), unde ...

and armed with

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms de ...

s. An associate of the Kinahan cartel, David Byrne (32) was shot dead; security sources said that the gang had intended to kill others. Two men were injured and taken to the

Mater Private Hospital The Mater Private Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Príobháideach an Mater) is a private hospital business. Its main hospital is located just to the east of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. In addition to the main hospital ...

and Beaumont Hospital. After the attack, security camera recordings suggested that six people had been involved, including a man disguised as a woman. The attackers escaped in a

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo i ...

van which was later found burnt-out.

Funeral

Because of the length of time Byrne's body would be waked at his parents' house before the funeral, special security measures were put in place. The funeral was held at the Church of St Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street. Gardaí checked the church before and after the ceremony for explosives but the funeral passed without incident and the hearse went to

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

Investigation

One line of investigation is that the shooting was in revenge for the murder of Gary Hutch in Spain in September 2015. Shortly after the shooting a call was placed to the BBC saying that the Continuity IRA had carried out the attack because Byrne had been involved in the killing of Alan Ryan four years before; however, the Continuity IRA later stated that it was not responsible.

Legal

On 18 May 2016 Patrick Hutch, the brother of Gary Hutch, was charged at the Criminal Courts of Justice with the murder of David Byrne. There was no application for bail; the defendant was granted

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

and remanded to appear in Clover Hill District Court on 25 May. The trial of Patrick Hutch for murder and possession of firearms was later set for January 2018 at the non-jury Special Criminal Court; he was denied bail. On 20 February 2019, all charges against Patrick Hutch were dropped and he walked free from court. In October 2019 the High Court ordered the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members ...

to provide transcripts of the collapsed trial to the

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing the Garda Síochána, the national police force. It is a three-member body established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 to dea ...

. Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin counciller, was subsequently charged with the Regency murder. In April 2021, Gerry Hutch became the subject of a European Arrest Warrant as Gardaí said they had enough evidence to charge him with murder in connection with the shooting of David Byrne. The EAW was issued after the Director for Public Prosecutions moved that he be charged with murder and tried before the Special Criminal Court. He is also likely to face other charges, such as attempted murder and possession of firearms. An investigation file was submitted by Garda detectives based in Ballymun to the DPP late in 2020. In April 2021 three men appeared in court in relation to the shooting. In August 2021 Gerry Hutch was arrested in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

on foot of the European Arrest Warrant in connection with the shooting. In September 2021 Gerry Hutch was extradited to the Republic of Ireland and charged with the murder of David Byrne. On September 28, 2022 both Jonathan Dowdall and his father Patrick pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne. On 3 October 2022 the Special Criminal Court was told that Jonathan Dowdall was willing to be a witness in the Regency shooting trial. The trial was adjourned for a week. Though Dowdall had been convicted of facilitating the murder, the charge of murder against him had been dropped. Dowdall is under Garda protection and is being assessed for the witness protection programme.

Aftermath

The hotel was renamed the Bonnington in October 2017. The renaming had been considered before the shooting, but the process was accelerated after it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, David 2016 deaths People murdered in the Republic of Ireland Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland Deaths by person in the Republic of Ireland Unsolved murders in Ireland Organised crime events in Ireland February 2016 events in Ireland 2016 murders in the Republic of Ireland