Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has reportedly left Ireland and returned to Lanzarote after being cleared of murder.  

Hutch was recently found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne and has been residing in Ireland since the trial.  

It is now reported he left Ireland on Monday to fly to Spain.  

Irish Sun Crime Editor Stephen Breen told The Pat Kenny Show Lanzarote is a place “well-known” to The Monk.  

“It’s also a place where he survived an attempt from the Kinahan cartel to kill him,” he said. “So there will be some surprise that he has returned to that location, but it's somewhere that he does know quite well.” 

Mr Breen confirmed he left Dublin airport on Monday with “other holiday makers”.  

“One individual was telling me one of their friends had noticed him... He has his own passport, he's a free man, so he's free to go where he chooses.” 

2M1F0BJ 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. Mr Byrne, 34, was killed during a crowded boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in one of the early attacks of the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud. Issue date: Monday December 12, 2022.

Surveillance

There was some surveillance on The Monk while he was in Ireland – although several key members of the Kinahan cartel are now in prison.  

“There was a guarded presence outside his home,” he said. “There was some suggestion that he’d be going for walks in the beach and the Gardaí were also keeping an eye on him.” 

“But because he’s left, that’s now passed to the Spanish authorities – I'm sure they’ll be concerned that someone of his standing in organised crime is now in Southern Spain.” 

Investigations

Mr Breen said investigations are still ongoing into the murder of David Byrne, as well as “other forms of criminality by the Hutch organised crime gang”.  

“But at the moment, there doesn't seem to be any suggestion that he's going to be arrested,” he said.  

“There is no suggestion that he's coming back anytime soon, or the guards are going to make any move against him - but we don't know what's going on in the background.” 

Hutch is seeking for his legal fees to be recouped, but the State are opposing. Mr Breen said this will likely “run up the courts as well” but it’s “impossible to say for how long”.  

During the trial, concerns were raised that the DPP sought to directly implicate Hutch as one of the men who shot David Byrne, rather than connecting him to the organisation of it. 

“Maybe one day we'll get to hear why the DPP decided to persist on insisting Gerry Hutch be charged with murder,” Mr Breen said.