Prison bosses are now considering waiting to move Jonathan Dowdall until his appeal is heard before the courts.
This paper has learned that bosses within the Irish Prison Service have decided to wait until Dowdall’s appeal of his conviction on June 20 before he may then be moved in with sex offenders in Dublin’s Arbour Hill Prison. Sources say logistically this may be the best place to move Dowdall - with it being in close proximity to the courts, and given that there is almost no other prison in the country deemed safe enough for the high-profile prisoner.
It had been thought that Dowdall would be imminently moved out of Limerick Prison - but sources say the decision to move him has been delayed. “It is a sort of a wait and see kind of thing right now. He possibly can’t stay there in Limerick but for now he’s not being moved,” a source said.
Read more: Jonathan Dowdall's father getting armed escorts to visit son in prison
It comes after this paper recently revealed that bosses within the Irish Prison Service were eager to have Dowdall moved because he is taking up too much space in Limerick Prison in the midst of an overcrowding crisis. Sources say this is still the case, but Dowdall is not being moved for the time being.
Well-placed sources have confirmed that Dowdall is still alone on a landing that can house up to a dozen prisoners - in spite of a massive overcrowding crisis in the Irish prison system.
That stark reality has forced prison bosses to make the decision to move the high-risk Dowdall out of Limerick Prison, so that the landing can be fully filled with other prisoners. However, moving Dowdall has not been an easy decision for authorities within the Irish Prison Service, who, it is understood, have had multiple discussions over how to handle the sensitive decision.
It comes after Dowdall’s father Patrick - who was the only other prisoner on that landing, was released from prison last week. Shamed former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan, whose evidence in the murder trial of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch was firmly rejected, is still most likely to be moved to Dublin’s Arbour Hill Prison - likely now by the time of his appeal.
That move will see Dowdall, who is still serving his four year sentence for facilitating the murder of David Byrne, shifted into a prison that is typically only reserved for sex offenders. Sources say prison bosses have assessed the potential security threat around Dowdall and determined that the unique circumstances he finds himself in potentially put him at risk in almost every other major prison in the land - including Portlaoise - the country’s maximum security facility.
It may mean Dowdall will soon be rubbing shoulders with some of the most notorious sex offenders in the country. As this paper previously reported, Dowdall’s bags were packed a week before the verdict in the Special Criminal Court trial of Gerry Hutch, in the event that an immediate move was necessary.
Ms Justice Tara Burns made scathing remarks during the judgement of Gerry Hutch, in which she said it could not be said that Dowdall suddenly “found God,” - and it was clear he stood to benefit by speaking to gardai. He claimed that he met with Gerry Hutch in a park in Whitehall two or three days after the Regency, and that The Monk confessed to the murder.
However the judges completely rejected this evidence and said Dowdall was not a reliable witness who could be trusted. Dowdall had pleaded for his murder charge to be dropped and in fact it was, in place for the facilitation charge, before he gave evidence in the trial of Gerry Hutch.
He was then to be considered for the Witness Protection Programme on the basis of an ongoing threat to his life. Dowdall had claimed his life was over once he turned State witness, but insisted he was telling the truth about Hutch.
Now that his evidence has been rejected and The Monk walks free, it isn’t clear if this will have any impact on his application. Patrick Dowdall was released last week after serving his time for facilitating the murder, by booking a hotel room at the Regency which was ultimately used by ‘Flat Cap’ shooter Kevin Murray.
He is now said to be in protective garda custody as his son awaits a decision over whether he will be admitted into the witness protection programme. In her summary of the judgement, Ms Justice Tara Burns stated that Jonathan Dowdall would no doubt be able to rebuild his life.
The former councillor claimed that no matter the outcome he would do so, and claimed that he didn’t care if he was killed - so long as his family was safe.
Read next:
Met Eireann pinpoints exact days Dublin will bask in 22C scorcher
Police are searching Portuguese reservoir for Madeleine McCann
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
