Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has been found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne.
Ms Justice Tara Burns on Monday read out her lengthy judgement in the case against Hutch, who denied murdering the Kinahan cartel associate..
Meanwhile, co-accused men Jason Bonney and Paul Murphy were found guilty of providing a motor vehicle to a criminal organisation, with knowledge or having been reckless as to whether those actions could facilitate a serious offence by the organisation.
Hutch appeared in court wearing a white shirt and suit jacket, with long hair and a long grey beard. He was seen using a hearing aid headset to listen to proceedings.
Family members of Byrne were also present in the court as the judgment was read out by Ms Justice Burns, sitting alongside judges Sarah Berkeley and Grainne Malone.
The high-profile trial in the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin concluded in January after hearing 52 days of evidence.
Former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall gave evidence as a prosecution witness.
Dowdall, who was to stand trial for murder, is now serving a four-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of Byrne.
Hutch's defence team dismissed Dowdall’s evidence as unreliable and flawed.
The defendant has been held at Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison on remand having been extradited back to Ireland from Spain in September 2021.
He will now walk free after being acquitted of Byrne's murder.
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