Gardai had to protect homes, sweep churches for bombs and man rooftops for Hutch family wakes and funerals to foil Kinahan cartel plans to kill mourners, a senior officer has revealed.
Inspector Tony Gallagher, who retired from the force after nearly 39 years this week, has told how he and his team had to take unprecedented measures due to the threat posed, declaring: “It was like a warzone.” In the wake of the February 5, 2016 Regency Hotel attack in North Dublin which claimed the life of Kinahan associate David Byrne, the mob began their onslaught.
A total of 18 men were shot dead in the feud, a level of violence the State had never seen before from an organised crime gang. Following Byrne’s murder, cartel boss Daniel Kinahan ordered his people to indiscriminately kill members of the Hutch family or anyone connected to them.
