Jonathan Dowdall appeals jail term for facilitating Hutch gang in Regency Hotel murder

Former Sinn Féin councillor appealing four-year sentence on the grounds of severity 

Jonathan Dowdal, front left,, surrounded by dock officers and gardaí during the trial of Gerry "The Monk" Hutch (third left). File picture: Elizabeth Cook/PA

Former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall, who is currently giving evidence for the State in the trial of Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, has launched an appeal against his jail term for facilitating the Hutch gang in the notorious murder of Kinahan cartel member David Byrne.

Dowdall pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to making a room available to the Hutch gang at the Regency Hotel, Swords Road, north Dublin, where the murder of Byrne, 34, occurred in February 2016.