Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch visits grave of brother Eddie 10 years after Kinahan shooting
Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch has paid his respects at the grave of his brother Eddie - who was shot dead by the Kinahan cartel 10 years ago yesterday.Hutch (62), who spent much of the last 10 years abroad evading cartel killers himself, was seen at the graveside of his brother in Glasnevin Cemetery on Sunday afternoon.He was seen looking emotional as he held flowers by his brother's grave, and as he also paid respects at the graves of several other family members who were brutally murdered by the Kinahan cartel - including Derek Coakley Hutch and Gareth Hutch.Taxi driver Eddie Hutch (58) was shot dead at his home in Poplar Row in Dublin’s inner city on February 8, 2016. His murder came just three days after the daring Hutch hit at the Regency Hotel - which saw Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne shot dead.The Kinahans, motivated by revenge, targeted Eddie in retaliation for the Regency shooting, and because he was largely seen as a soft target. The cartel wanted to target anyone closely connected to 'The Monk', who they blamed for the incident.Our pictures show that 'The Monk', who was for years a major target of the cartel, clearly now feels more comfortable back in Ireland, 10 years on from a feud that destroyed his family.It comes over two years on from when Hutch, who was extradited from Spain to face a murder charge over the killing of David Byrne in Dublin’s Regency Hotel, was acquitted before the Special Criminal Court.And it comes as the now would-be politician hopes to run in the upcoming by-election in Dublin Central this May. It also comes as a major Garda file is currently sitting with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), recommending that mob boss Daniel Kinahan, who is still holed up in Dubai, be charged over his role in the murder of Eddie Hutch.What ensued after the murder of Eddie Hutch was a relentless Kinahan campaign to target anyone with the Hutch surname - or even considered to be connected to 'The Monk' - who at the time fled the country in fear of his own life.The Kinahans would, over the course of the feud, attempt to murder his brother Patsy and nephew Patrick several times, while they successfully hired killers to murder his nephews Gareth Hutch and Derek Coakley Hutch. They also murdered his pals Noel 'Kingsize' Duggan and Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan, and several other innocent men.The war began when Daniel Kinahan made the decision to have his old pal Gary Hutch (33) murdered in Milaflores, Spain on September 24, 2015 - because he believed he was trying to muscle in on his patch.As we revealed last week, gardai now believe the feud really began when the Hutch gang tried to take over and fought for supremacy in the drugs market.Watch our special Shattered Lives documentary on YouTube here or belowGary Hutch tried to have Kinahan murdered in August 2014 - but the hitman got the wrong man - shooting and injuring innocent boxer Jamie Moore instead.As part of a hastily-arranged peace deal, Gary’s brother Patrick agreed to be shot in the leg by a Kinahan enforcer - and the Hutch mob paid more than €200,000 in compensation to end the feud with Kinahan.But Kinahan reneged on the deal and had Hutch murdered. In November of that year, the Hutchs are believed to have tried to kill Kinahan in revenge when he was at a boxing event in the Red Cow Hotel in Dublin - but he survived.The Kinahans then are believed to have attempted to murder Gerry Hutch in a failed bid in Lanzarote that December.Then on February 5, 2016, the Hutch mob carried out the audacious hit at the 'Clash of Clans' boxing weigh-in event at the Regency Airport Hotel in north Dublin - but once more failed to kill their top target.They did however manage to kill David Byrne - a murder that saw the Kinahans launch a vicious onslaught of revenge that terrified the inner-city for several years and saw armed gardai on the streets.As many as 18 men lost their lives in the feud - but the war all resulted in a massive Garda crackdown on the Kinahans and eventually the simmering down of the feud.Many of their key lieutenants were locked up, and massive sanctions were ultimately imposed on the leaders of the Kinahan cartel by the United States Treasury Department in April 2022. The sanctions effectively saw the end of the Kinahans' influence in Ireland.The cartel, which is estimated to be worth over €1 billion, is no longer considered to be operating in this country - but remains a top target for gardai and the American DEA.Last week Gardai also stated that the 'Hutch Organised Crime Group' remains a priority target for the force.Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland told the media ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Regency Hotel shooting, that the Hutch gang "is heavily involved in drug trafficking and always was heavily involved in drug trafficking.""In fact, that’s why the feud, as we call it, initially took place – it was for supremacy in relation to areas of drug trafficking in this state," he added.The senior Garda, who heads the force’s Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, spoke out as gardai also revealed statistics showing that since the eruption of the feud, some 51 gangland hits have been prevented, 17 people were arrested over the Regency and five were convicted. They also seized over 70 firearms, 4,376 rounds of ammunition, €31.8 million of controlled drugs and €11.1 million in cash as a result of policing the feud.Officers also revealed that they successfully prosecuted 98 associates of the Hutch Organised Crime Group and the Kinahan Organised Crime Group before the courts to date. Some 19 of those were murder related, 25 attempted murder related, 21 firearms related, 22 drug-trafficking and 21 money laundering related.Gardai say some 15 of those convicted are associated with the Hutch Organised Crime Group - while a staggering 83 of the persons convicted are associated with the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.Det Chief Superintendent Boland, who insisted the investigation into the Regency isn't over, said the attack was ultimately a massive failure for the Hutch gang - due to the sheer loss of life that followed."This attack on the Regency Hotel is the worst organised crime attack in the history of this State. It’s also the greatest failure by the people who planned it and carried it out because it did not achieve anything except increase the numbers of people who were eventually killed," he said.Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.
