Mary Lou McDonald has informed the Dáil that Jonathan Dowdall, a former Sinn Féin councillor who was imprisoned for promoting the 2016 murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel, should not have been a part of Sinn Féin. Before this, Dowdall had been detained for physically and mentally torturing a man he suspected of attempting to deceive him and his father, both of whom were associated with Byrne. What is the background of Jonathan Dowdall, and what does this say about Sinn Féin’s stance on such incidents?
Jonathan Dowdall in Sinn Féin
Dowdall had been a Sinn Féin councillor for Dublin’s Inner City North ward in the heart of Ms McDonald’s constituency from 2014 to 2015 but left the party complaining of bullying. Dowdall was a crucial witness in the trial of Gerry The Monk Hutch, which terminated this week with Mr Hutch being forgiven by the non-jury Special Criminal Court of the Regency murder. In her conclusion, one of the three judges, Ms Justice Burns, declared: “It cannot be said that [Dowdall] found God and decided to do what was right.” She said he “acted out of his self-interest”. Now Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin says Mr Dowdall brought up a gun attack at his uncle’s place. Mr Keane is the only Sinn Féin figure to have encountered Mr Dowdall. He was Sinn Féin director of elections for the local elections in Dublin in 2014. He was also the election agent for Sinn Féin’s European candidate Lynn Boylan.
Contradictions in Sinn Féin’s knowledge of Jonathan Dowdall’s criminal involvement
Sinn Féin had assured party officials examined a handgun attack with Jonathan Dowdall before he was a councillor. Mary Lou McDonald claims Sinn Féin had “no inkling” about Mr Dowdall’s involvement in the crime. But this view is contradicted by proof in the trial of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch. The Special Criminal Court listened to a Sinn Féin official, a crucial assistant of party leader Mr McDonald, who allegedly stood up to Mr Dowdall about gun aggression at his uncle’s home. Ms McDonald has constantly said there was nothing to offer Mr Dowdall was engaged in criminality. “Had I known what he would become involved in, he would not have been a party member for one minute, never mind running for public office – I would not tolerate that,” McDonald said previously.
Ms McDonald also denied comments about her during this trial, which alleged Sinn Féin accepted support from the Hutch family. “I have never met Gerard Hutch. I have never received money or electoral support from Gerard Hutch,” she said.
Dowdall criminal actions
The shooting at Mr Dowdall’s uncle’s place and the following meeting with Sinn Féin officials repeatedly occurred at the Regency Hotel murder trial. Aside from the taped discussions, Mr Dowdall was also asked about the happenings in cross-examination by Mr Hutch’s legal counsel. He has forbidden attacking his uncle’s home. “I did not do anything to him and his house. A shot was put into his house. It was years ago,” Dowdall said to the judge.
In 2017, Dowdall was confined alongside his father for torturing a man and alerting him that he was in the IRA and could have him “chopped up” and “fed to the dogs.” He was captured in 2021 for his part in the murder of Kinahan Cartel gangster David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in a shooting that stunned the world. Dowdall turned State witness to vow against Gerry Hutch and claimed that The Monk admitted to him that he was one of the attackers that shot Byrne to death in the hotel. However, the State’s case against Gerry Hutch fell as the Special Criminal Court judged that they could not depend on the evidence provided by Jonathan Dowdall, who had been seen out in replicated lies.
Pieces of evidence
A court in Dublin had revealed CCTV footage of when a man was fatally offended by an assault rifle-wielding hitmen at a boxing weigh-in event. On 5 February 2016, Gerry Hutch, 59, claimed not guilty to the murder of David Byrne, 34, at the Regency Hotel in the city. A group of five gunmen, including three outfitted as a police tactical team and holding AK47-type weapons, shot the weigh-in as part of Ireland’s Hutch-Kinahan gang feud that, to date, has claimed 18 lives. Gerry Hutch was deported from Spain to Ireland in August 2021 to stand a murder trial. Two other men, 59-year-old Paul Murphy and 50-year-old Jason Bonney, are also captured for helping with the commission of the murder by supplying vehicles.
Jonathan Dowdall, 44, and his father, Patrick Dowdall, acknowledged helping a criminal gang to execute the murder of Mr Byrne in February 2016. Patrick Dowdall was imprisoned for two years for his role in the killing.
Calls for Mary Lou McDonald to reveal ties with former Sinn Féin councillor-turned-gangster
whether she knew about Dowdall’s involvement in the illegal underworld when he was a councillor for her party. “I first met Jonathan Dowdall and his wife, a civil servant in the Department of Social Protection, at an event before the 2011 general election. MARY Lou McDonald has been advised to “come clean” about her ties to former Sinn Fein councillor turned gangster Jonathan Dowdall. It reaches as the Sinn Fein leader told the Dail that she did not understand “the real Jonathan Dowdall” and rather thought he was “just a north inner city kid who worked hard and done well for himself.”
Last news about Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin will argue that following Charles’s coronation is simply a mark of respectful neighbourly relations instead of any show of fidelity. By gathering an all-Ireland context, O’Neill implicitly restated her denial of obtaining the country’s partition. But her words also indicate a broader audience for Sinn Féin’s gesture. It is a signal to unionists and neighbours across the water and voters in the Republic of Ireland. Indeed, it was arguably the latter who encouraged Sinn Féin’s shift in position concerning the British crown in recent years.
Sinn Féin is thus enthusiastic about showing supporters in the Republic that it is now willing to lead the country and to comfort those who might feel it lacks the required political tact and diplomacy to portray Ireland on the world stage. All polls suggest Sinn Finn will win the next elections but possible scandals such as Jonathan Dowdall can change the game.
