Gerard Hutch trial: Court declines to view Dowdall torture footage

Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor, is a witness in a gangland murder trial in Dublin

An Irish court has declined a request to be shown mobile phone footage of a former Sinn Féin councillor torturing a victim by waterboarding him.

Jonathan Dowdall served a sentence for kidnapping and threatening to kill a man during a row over a motorcycle.

Dowdall is now being cross-examined as a witness in a gangland murder trial.

Gerard Hutch, 59, from the Paddocks, Clontarf, denies murdering David Byrne who was shot at the Regency Airport Hotel in Dublin in 2016.

Mr Byrne was shot six times including in the head, face, abdomen and thighs at a boxing event at the hotel in February that year.

It was the second killing in the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud that has claimed a total of 18 lives.

Seventeen of those killings were carried out on behalf of the Kinahans.

The murder trial is being heard by three judges at the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

'Deeply ashamed'

Dowdall had also been charged with Mr Byrne's murder, but in October he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of facilitating the murder by renting a hotel room for the killers.

The former Sinn Féin councillor is currently serving a four-year sentence and has applied to join the state's witness protection programme.

He has been told his application is not dependent on his evidence in this murder trial.

David Byrne, who was 33, died after being shot in the 2016 gun attack at the Regency Airport Hotel

Dowdall has already told the court that he is deeply ashamed of what he did to his victim following a dispute over the sale of a motorbike.

He described his own behaviour as terrible and disgusting.

In evidence, Dowdall admitted the footage of the torture only came to light after gardaí (Irish police) searched his house for firearms and explosives on suspicion that he was a member of the IRA.

During Tuesday's hearing, he denied being a member of an illegal organisation.

'Political stunt'

The judges declined a request by Mr Hutch's defence team to view the footage of Dowdall torturing the man over the motorbike dispute.

But they did listen to a recording of Dowdall's phone call to Irish broadcaster RTÉ'S Liveline programme which he made following the garda raid on his home.

In the call, Dowdall told the presenter Joe Duffy the police raid was a "political stunt to drag Sinn Féin into it" even though he had left the party by that stage.

He told the radio show he was not involved in crime, however during the raid detectives found evidence of him having waterboarded his victim.

The murder trial has previously heard that gardaí secretly recorded Dowdall and Mr Hutch as they travelled to Northern Ireland seeking republican mediation in the feud.

'Rubbish'

In the recordings Dowdall boasted about his alleged criminal activities.

But in evidence, he described his comments in the recordings as bravado and nervousness.

He said he was telling Mr Hutch what he wanted to hear and because he - Dowdall - was on tablets for depression at the time.

Dowdall has already claimed in court that Mr Hutch admitted to him that he was of two men who shot Mr Byrne dead.

Gerard Hutch is on trial for murder at Special Criminal Court in Dublin

The witness also said in evidence that he handed the card key for the hotel room used by the killers to Mr Hutch.

Asked why he had not raised Mr Hutch's alleged admission in the secret recordings Dowdall said: "I wouldn't have asked him questions."

Dowdall has previously described many of his statements in his videotaped garda interviews as "rubbish".

He said he was nervous and in fear for his and his family's life at the time.

In the secret garda recordings Mr Hutch can be heard telling Dowdall that "these three yokes were throwing up either way" as "a present".

The prosecution claims that is a reference to giving up the three AK-47 assault rifles used in the Regency Airport Hotel murder.

Mr Hutch can also be heard saying: "Twelve months time, there's two RUC men dead and them things ballistically traced."

Dowdall replied the police would then link that to the Regency.

Mr Hutch then said any smart copper would then say it is "a joint yoke".

The guns were recovered by gardaí near Slane in County Meath a month after the Regency in the boot of a car.

The driver of that car, Shane Rowan, is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for possession of firearms and membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the IRA.

'Tore shreds into me'

While questioning Dowdall, Mr Hutch's defence barrister, Brendan Grehan SC, again accused the witness of being "an opportunistic liar".

Mr Grehan indicated that independent expert analysis of Dowdall's phone records showed that Dowdall did not meet Mr Hutch in a park to admit he was a killer on the day Dowdall suggested.

The former Sinn Féin councillor replied that he may be a little off in his timings "but that's my memory".

His cross-examination has now concluded, but before leaving the witness box Dowdall said Mr Grehan SC "tore shreds into me last week".

He said of his evidence: "I've painted myself in a terrible picture, but that's the truth."

The murder trial, which will resume on 11 January, is expected to last for at least a further two weeks.