Judges at the Special Criminal Court have refused to hear a bid by Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch to have a murder charge against him dismissed.
Hutch, 59, last of The Paddocks, Clontarf, is accused of the murder of Kinahan gang member David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016, and is due to stand trial with four others in October. Ruling on whether the court had the jurisdiction to hear Hutch’s application, presiding judge Ms Justice Tara Burns said that, in order for the non-jury court to hear such a matter, a case must be sent forward for trial from the District Court.
As Hutch was charged before the Special Criminal Court and not the District Court, the three judges rejected arguments previously made by his lawyers.
