Jonathan Dowdall 'duped' and 'put in firing line' for Regency Hotel attack, appeal court hears

The former Sinn Féin councillor is appealing the severity of his four-year sentence

Court of Appeal president Mr Justice George Birmingham said when he first read the appellant's submissions, his first reaction was that Dowdall had done 'extraordinarily well'.

Former Sinn Féin councillor and convicted torturer Jonathan Dowdall, who was jailed for facilitating the murder of Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne, was "duped" and put in the "firing line" for the Regency Hotel attack, his lawyers have told the Court of Appeal.

Appealing the severity of his four-year sentence for facilitating the Regency attack, Michael O'Higgins SC, for Dowdall, told the three-judge court on Tuesday that while the State may say the hotel room at the hotel was part of the "launching pad" for the murder of Mr Byrne, he would submit it was the "launching pad for a contrived event plan of disinformation, which was put together in a way where my client was left front and centre".