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Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch returns to Ireland after ten weeks in Spain

The 60-year-old arrived home on Monday of last week, having left Dublin for Spain on May 15th

Today at 13:53

GERRY ‘The Monk’ Hutch has returned to Ireland after spending the past ten weeks living in Spain.

The 60-year-old arrived home on Monday of last week, having left Dublin for Spain on May 15th – after been cleared of the murder of the Regency hotel murder the month before.

It is understood that Hutch intends to spend a couple more weeks in Ireland, where much of his loved ones still live, with a family base in Clontarf.

A source close to the patriarch of the Hutch family said that he is “not in any way in hiding” and that some members of An Garda Siochana are aware of his return.

It is understood that the man known as ‘The Monk’ has not been issued with a new Garda Information Message (GIM) since his recent return to Dublin.

However, there has been an active threat to Hutch’s life for several years, which was at its highest level in the aftermath of the Regency Hotel shooting in 2016, which claimed the life of Kinahan cartel lieutenant David Byrne.

However, sources concede the Kinahan cartel would “grasp any opportunity with both hands” to murder the patriarch of the Hutch family.

Sources close to ‘The Monk’ say that he believes that the threat to his life by the Kinahan cartel is no longer at the level it once was — but he will remain on his guard for the rest of his life.

On April 17th following a 52-day trial, Hutch was cleared of the high-profile murder of Kinahan gang member David Byrne at the Dublin hotel seven years previously.

Mr Byrne (33) died after being shot six times at a crowded boxing weigh-in event at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016, in one of the first deadly attacks of the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud.

The attack was described by the Special Criminal Court as a “meticulously planned high-velocity assassination” by a six-man hit team which left one man dead and two others injured.

It “sparked mayhem on the streets of Dublin” and resulted in a “series of callous murders”, the court heard.

Many of the victims were members of the Hutch family or close associates of the family patriarch.

‘The Monk’ remains under investigation for being the alleged leader of the Hutch organised crime group, under anti-gangland laws.

Upon acquitting Hutch, the three-judge court stated in blunt terms that there was a “reasonable possibility” the Regency attack was planned by his brother Patsy Hutch and that ‘The Monk’ stepped in, as head of the family, to try to sort out the aftermath, “particularly as his own life was at risk”.

The Special Criminal Court also found, beyond reasonable doubt, that “members of the Hutch family were responsible for the attack at the Regency and the murder of David Byrne”.

The Kinahan cartel attempted to murder Gerry Hutch in Spain on New Year’s Eve 2015, but he escaped.

He was arrested in a police raid on a restaurant in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.

He was extradited at the end of 2021 and brought to Wheatfield Prison to the 3G landing where he remained until he was cleared of murder.

While Hutch was acquitted of the Regency murder, two of Hutch’s close associates were jailed for their role in the attack. Taxi driver Paul Murphy (61) was sentenced to nine years and builder Jason Bonney (52) to eight and a half years for facilitating the killing of Byrne.

On June 7, Hutch failed to get orders requiring the State to pay his substantial legal costs following his murder acquittal.

It is understood the 60-year-old Dubliner’s legal fees were “close” to €1.2m, and not €500k as previously reported — a bill he must foot himself.

He was represented by Tony Collier, partner at Ferrys Solicitors, together with senior counsel Brendan Grehan as well as a junior counsel.

In what was seen as an unusual decision, Hutch did not seek legal aid at the outset of his murder trial — which everyone is entitled to.

Had he done so, he would have had to furnish the court with a statement of means.