Monk party pooper

DPP decides not to bring charges after long probe into ex-officer at Hutch acquittal knees-up

- PAUL HEALY

A GARDA probe into a former GSOC officer who attended a "party" for Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch lasted over two years - before the State prosecutor ruled that no charges should be brought.

Gardai from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) launched the major investigation into the officer after the revelations were first published by this paper back in April 2023.

But now it has emerged that gardai learned in recent weeks that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided there would be no charges brought in the case ending what was a long saga that drew controversy and headlines for days.

Yesterday, Garda Niall Hodgins, vice president of the Garda Representative Association, said he remains concerned about the manner in which those who work for the Ombudsman are investigated - as opposed to gardai.

He said: "Our members are held to a very high account, as should always be the case, but there appears to be some divergence between evidential thresholds applied to our members and those applied to officers of oversight bodies such as GSOC, now Fiosru.

"Any unequal treatment between officers of the State that hold similar powers has the potential to damage morale within our association and the confidence of the public. The question now remains: who is watching the watchers?" This paper first broke the story that the officer had resigned - after casually telling colleagues he attended a gathering for The Monk when he returned to his home in Clontarf, north Dublin, having just been acquitted of the Regency Hotel murder of David Byrne on April 17, 2023.

INFORMATION