Gsoc officer who went to 'The Monk' party probed another Hutch case

The Garda watchdog was called in after the convicted Hutch criminal in the separate case was in a road traffic accident in Dublin involving a member of the public

The officer resigned after he told colleagues he attended a party with Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch (pictured) on the night he was acquitted of the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.

A Gsoc officer who resigned after attending a party with Dublin criminal Gerry Hutch last month had previously played a role in another case involving a member of the Hutch family.

The officer resigned after he told colleagues he attended a party with ‘The Monk’ on the night he was acquitted of the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.

The officer who is in his 60s and has worked for Gsoc for a number of years, was arrested and questioned as part of a garda investigation. He was released without charge last week.

He was questioned by the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NCBI) in Dublin under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Separately, the Gsoc has launched an internal investigation into the incident.

The Irish Examiner has learned that the officer was part of a probe into a separate case involving another member of the Hutch family last year. At the time, the Garda watchdog was called in after the convicted Hutch criminal in that case was in a road traffic accident in Dublin involving a member of the public.

Shortly before the crash, the Hutch gang member had approached a well-known gangland figure in the north inner city, before leaving after officers “interacted with him”. The matter was referred to Gsoc due to the garda interaction, and the agency carried out a formal investigation after its initial assessment.

In a statement, a Gsoc spokesperson told the Irish Examiner the case around the traffic incident remains active. It said: “The case to which you refer, which followed a referral by An Garda Síochána, remains under examination and Gsoc is not in a position to comment further on it at this time."

The former Gsoc investigator at the heart of the controversy was also involved in a number of high-profile cases, including a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of Colm Fox.

The Detective Superintendent was the lead investigator in the Regency Hotel murder and died tragically during the trial of Gerry Hutch’s nephew Patrick, who was charged with murder before the case collapsed. The Gsoc investigator who has now resigned was hired from abroad.

Gerry Hutch walked free from the Special Criminal Court on April 17 after his acquittal for the murder of David Byrne in 2016. A small celebration took place at an address in Dublin’s northside that night.

The suspected link between the Hutch family and the former Gsoc investigator has caused huge disquiet among both the gardaí and government. The Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said Gsoc has a "vital role in upholding confidence in policing in Ireland, and it is incredibly important that public confidence in Gsoc be maintained".