Dowdall denies lying when he said Gerard Hutch confessed that he shot David Byrne

Mr Hutch's defence counsel put it to Dowdall that he dismissed his conversations with Gerard Hutch in the audio recording as "simply being talk"

Jonathan Dowdall (second right) giving evidence in the trial at the Special Criminal Court, Dublin, of Gerry "The Monk" Hutch (third left) for the murder of David Byrne. File picture: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire

Ex-Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall, a former co-accused of Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch who has turned State's witness, has denied that he was lying when he said Mr Hutch confessed to him in a park that he had shot Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne.

Under cross-examination for a seventh day, Mr Hutch's defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC put it to Dowdall that he dismissed his conversations with Gerard Hutch in the audio recording as "simply being talk" but yet it wasn't like two people "down the pub of a Friday night".