Jonathan Dowdall, the former Sinn Féin Councillor, will leave Ireland as part of a witness protection programme after giving a statement to Gardai that implicates others in the Regency Hotel murders.
Mr Dowdall, who also served a six-year prison sentence with his father for imprisonment and torture of a man at his home, will never again live in Ireland, a garda told the three-judge Special Criminal Court this morning.
Last week, Mr Dowdall (44) and his father Patrick (65) pleaded guilty to facilitating the 2016 murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel as part of a violent fued between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs.
Former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall has entered the Witness Protection Program after giving a statement to gardai that implicates others in the murder of David Byrne, who was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in 2016 as part of the Hutch/Kinahan gang feud. pic.twitter.com/hzkqcgmUMG
— Courts News Ireland (@courtsnewsIRL) October 3, 2022
Court News Ireland reported that the Gardai told the Special Criminal Court that “the Dowdall family is now in protective garda custody, which has been a “significant shock”.
“A risk assessment carried out by gardai suggested a “severe” risk to Dowdall and members of his family,” the court heard.