Gerard Hutch trial to rule on admissibility of tapes

Gerard Hutch, 59, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Byrne in Dublin during a boxing weigh-in

Dublin's Special Criminal Court has ruled it will listen to recordings of conversations between murder accused Gerard Hutch and former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall.

The audio recordings were made when police bugged Dowdall's jeep.

Mr Hutch's defence is objecting to their admissibility because it says eight of the 10 hours were recorded while the jeep was in Northern Ireland.

The non-jury court will rule on the issue after listening to all 10 hours.

Mr Hutch, 59, from the Paddocks in Clontarf, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of David Byrne in Dublin during a boxing weigh-in.

Mr Byrne, 33, was shot dead at the Regency Airport Hotel in February 2016.

The court was told the murder was carried out execution-style by an organised and resourced group as part of the Hutch-Kinahan gang feud.

Five men, three disguised as armed police in tactical clothing and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, carried out the attack.

The prosecution case is that Mr Hutch had asked Dowdall to arrange a meeting with republicans to mediate or resolve the Hutch-Kinahan feud and that meetings had taken place on 20 February and 7 March 2016.

Dowdall had driven Mr Hutch to meet the republicans.

David Byrne was shot dead at Dublin's Regency Airport Hotel in February 2016

The prosecution said Dowdall and Mr Hutch's conversation was recorded and "many topics were traversed" including events at the Regency, the existence of the feud with the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, the personnel and "efforts to make peace or agree a ceasefire".

A defence counsel said their "core argument" would be that gardai (Irish police) were aware the jeep was outside the legal jurisdiction and that therefore the evidence harvested from that "illicit fruit" should be excluded.

Dowdall, 44, of Navan Road, Dublin, was due to stand trial for Mr Byrne's murder alongside Mr Hutch.

However, he pleaded guilty in advance of the trial to a lesser charge of facilitating the Hutch gang by making a hotel room available ahead of the murder.

He was jailed by the Special Criminal Court for four years.

The former Dublin councillor is currently being assessed for the Witness Protection Program after agreeing to testify against Mr Hutch.

Mr Hutch's two co-accused, Paul Murphy, 61, of Cherry Avenue, Swords, County Dublin, and Jason Bonney, 50, of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin, pleaded not guilty to participating in or contributing to the murder of David Byrne by providing access to motor vehicles on 5 February 2016.

The trial continues.