Gerry “The Monk” Hutch appears to have had a falling out with his brother Patsy and the pair have not crossed paths since he walked free from court last week.
A source revealed Patsy – who has survived three bids by the Kinahan cartel to murder him – has not visited his younger sibling since he was acquitted of murder on Monday. Now clean shaven, Gerry Hutch, 60, has been spotted out and about in North Dublin in the days since his release.
Patsy, 62, was seen walking near his home in the north inner city hours after the Special Criminal Court heard there was a “reasonable possibility” he had planned the Regency Hotel attack. However, the two brothers have not been seen together, fuelling rumours that they are not on speaking terms.
Read More: Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch may never face fresh charges over Regency hotel shooting
A source said: “Normally Patsy and Gerry would be very close. Patsy would often be seen out visiting him. But there has been no sign at all of him at Gerry’s, leading some people to believe they have fallen out and are no longer talking.”
Further arrests for the 2016 Regency Hotel killing of David Byrne are imminent, but it is believed Gerry Hutch will not face further charges. He is said to be planning a return to Spain, though he is not expected to fly out of Dublin Airport and may begin his journey by ferry.
The source revealed: “He has used other airports in the past. Ones that are less busy and where he perhaps wouldn’t be spotted as quickly. He may well fly out from Knock, Shannon or Belfast. There’s also the possibility he may go by ferry. It’s very unlikely he will use Dublin Airport.”
Local sources say Hutch wants to spend a few days catching up with family and visiting murdered relatives’ graves before heading to Europe.
Gary Hutch – Patsy’s son and The Monk’s nephew – was the first murder victim of the feud between the warring families in September 2015. Taxi man Eddie Hutch, Gareth Hutch, Derek Coakley Hutch along with The Monk’s two pals Noel “Kingsize” Duggan and Noel Kirwan have all been wiped out since.
One revealed: “He’s very much a family man. He will no doubt want to pay his respects to his brother Eddie and nephews, who were murdered while he was away.
“The people of the north inner city are very protective of Gerry, as well as the rest of the Hutch family who live there. Gerry wants to get back to Spain and start the next chapter of his life, albeit while spending the rest of it looking over his shoulder. He had already started a new life over there before his arrest and will resume it.”
Hutch denied the murder of Kinahan gang member David Byrne, 33, at a boxing weigh in at the Regency on February 5, 2016. His two co-accused, Paul Murphy, 61, from Swords, Co Dublin and Jason Bonney, 52, of from Portmarnock, Dublin, were found guilty of acting as getaway drivers during the Regency gun attack.
However, more than seven years on from the fatal feud shooting, no one has been convicted of the murder of David Byrne.
Now, according to a legal source, Hutch could be in line to get close to €250,000 back in legal costs after his acquittal following a 51-day trial. The source said: “Gerry Hutch was not on legal aid. The legal fees are always substantial in a trial that goes on for so long. You are talking about roughly €4,000 a day for junior and senior counsel alone for a murder case, that would be the guts of a quarter of a million.
“The amount of work that would have gone into that case would have been monumental. There would be 60 days or more of work before the trial even began. If you had a commercial case that ran for that many days you would be going into the millions, there’s a phenomenal difference.”
It is however unlikely that Hutch would win a case against the State for unlawful arrest or detention. He spent 606 days in custody, from the date of his arrest in Spain on August 19, 2021 until he walked down the court steps on April 17, 2023.
The legal source said: “He wasn’t wrongfully incarcerated, he was accused and denied bail for a number of reasons, not least that he had to be extradited back to Ireland. All of the people who are on remand are not guilty so the State cannot be sued after the fact.”
Hutch’s belongings were collected from Wheatfield Prison in Dublin on Tuesday – 24 hours after he walked free from court. A source said: “Among the items returned were those taken off him when arrested in Spain; his watch, jewellery, phone and clothes. He also got back the bag loads of mail he received from supporters over the last few months.”
In her judgement on Monday Justice Tara Burns said a reasonable possibility arises on the evidence that the Regency attack was planned by Gerard Hutch’s older brother Patsy.
READ NEXT:
- Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch set to zig zag his way across Europe to 'avoid a bullet'
- Appeal launched to find 15-year-old boy missing from Dublin
- Man arrested after Revenue officers and gardai seize 5kg of illegal cannabis in Tallaght
- Missing Dublin man last seen on CCTV carrying 'distinctive' blue bag as family appeal for help
- Public urged not to share 'disrespectful' images of man found dead on Balbriggan beach
Sign up for the Dublin Live newsletter to get the latest headlines straight to your inbox.
