Gerry Hutch is a “lovable rogue”, a woman in Dublin’s north inner city tells Newstalk reporter Henry McKean. 

On Monday, Hutch was found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne in 2016 and left the Special Criminal Court a free man. 

Growing up in inner city Dublin, Hutch received a range of criminal convictions between the early 1970s and 1983 – spending time in prison on a number of occasions.

The Criminal Assets Bureau brought proceedings against him in 1999 and during the proceedings, Gardaí said he was suspected of involvement in two major armed robberies.

He denied involvement in serious crime and eventually reached a IR£1.2 million settlement with the State body.

Gardaí have since warned him that his life could be at risk but out on the streets near where he grew up, most who stopped to talk had little animus towards him. 

“A lovable rogue he was,” one woman said. 

“I knew him myself anyway.” 

She agrees he is something of a Robin Hood character and thinks he’ll have left town since the end of the trial to go on holiday. 

“I’d say so, yeah,” she said smiling. 

“I’d say he’s gone already!”

Pictured is Gerry The Monk Hutch being followed by the media and reporters after being freed following his court case at the Criminal Courts today. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Still, whatever fondness she has for Hutch, she is keen to stress her hope that the feud between him and the Kinahan cartel does not kick off again. 

Eighteen people were killed and she knows some of the families personally. 

“I just hope it doesn’t start up again,” she said. 

“Please God it doesn’t but no one knows… We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Another man who stopped to talk to Moncrieff believes there is no appetite for the feud to return. 

“The area has moved on,” he said. 

“Things have been really good.” 

However, on the issue of drugs that have fuelled so much of the crime in the area, he was less optimistic in his assessment. 

“You’re talking about getting rid of drugs in the area - it’ll never happen,” he predicted. 

“It’s like getting the British out of Ireland for 700 years, it’ll never happen.” 

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jonathan Dowdall giving evidence in the trial at the Special Criminal Court, Dublin, of Gerry "The Monk" Hutch (third left) for the murder of David Byrne at a hotel in Dublin in 2016.

He has not seen Hutch in the recent past but stresses there would be no issue if he did. 

“There’s no problem with Gerry in the area, or out of the area,” he said 

“Because he’s well respected and he does look after people in the area.” 

Another was even more explicit when asked for his opinion about Hutch. 

“He’s a good man, they should leave him the f**k alone. He’s done nothing wrong,” he said bluntly. 

“If he’s a Robin Hood, he’s a f**king good one.” 

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Another woman said she had met him through work and found him a “very nice man” to deal with. 

“I think, well, he was proven innocent, so he’s innocent,” she said. 

“So, there you go. 

“He was questioned by the three judges there, so if they think he’s innocent, I think he’s innocent… I met him through work and he’s a very nice man. 

“Not intimidating for anything like that, a lovely person.”

Before Hutch was acquitted, two men were found guilty of facilitating David Byrne’s murder through the provision of getaway vehicles. 

Paul Murphy, of Cherry Avenue in Swords and Jason Bonney, of Drumnigh Wood in Portmarnock, will be sentenced in May.

Main image: Gerry Hutch. Picture by: RollingNews.ie