Jonathan Dowdall loses appeal against severity of four-year sentence

Jonathan Dowdall, leaving the Special Criminal Court during the trial, with his father Patrick Dowdall. Picture: Collins Courts
The four-year sentence imposed on former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall for facilitating the murder of Kinahan Cartel member David Byrne at the Regency Hotel was “very lenient”, the Court of Appeal has found in dismissing the convicted torturer’s bid to have his jail time reduced.
Upholding the former electrician's sentence on Friday, the president of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said that counsel on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions had commented that the imposition of such a significantly reduced sentence may in all the circumstances be considered generous.