Gerard 'The Monk' Hutch has been found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne, the Kinahan gang member who was shot dead at the Regency Hotel seven years ago.
The three judges at the Special Criminal Court delivered their verdict this afternoon.
The 60-year-old from the Paddocks in Clontarf, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
David Byrne was shot dead on 5 February 2016 in a murder that rapidly escalated the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud which has so far cost 18 lives.
The prosecution claimed that Gerard Hutch was one of two gunmen disguised in fake Garda tactical uniforms who shot the Kinahan Cartel member as he scrambled on the ground of the Regency Hotel.
The State's main witness, the former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall, testified that he and his father handed Mr Hutch the keycard to a room at the hotel used by one of the gunmen the night before the murder.
He also said that Gerard Hutch subsequently admitted to him that he had been involved in the murder when he met him at a park in Ellenfield, Whitehall in Dublin.
The court said today it is of the view that Dowdall received a significant benefit by providing a statement to the gardaí.
Ms Justice Tara Burns said that while he and his family will live looking over their shoulders, he now has a chance at life instead of serving a life sentence. The court must have regard to this in relation to his evidence.
"It cannot be said he 'found God' and decided to do what was right. He was acting in his own self interest, ten days before his own murder trial was due to begin," the judge said.
The court said it must approach Dowdall's evidence with extreme care and it causes the court "great concern".
"The court can expect to be told the full story, that did not happen in this case," the judge said,
"One would have thought he would come to court and tell the whole truth, it's clear he came to give specific evidence and not about his connection to the Regency and the IRA."
The judge pointed out that Dowdall was extremely reluctant to disclose his friendship with Pearse McAuley. He initially said he visited him in prison two or three times, not 14 as disclosed by prison records.
"This was a bare faced lie to court," the judge said.
Ms Justice Burns said the court was of the opinion that Gerard Hutch making an admission of a major gangland murder would have made a searing impression on Jonathan Dowdall's memory.
"The court is of the view that the events of the day would make a lasting impression and one would be expected to remember if it happened in the morning or the afternoon," she said.
"The murder of Eddie Hutch was proof that a string of murders was in the offing.
"These would have been 'standout moments' yet Jonathan Dowdall gets the time and day wrong and doesn't have any sense of shock at the admission."
"The court is of the view that Jonathan Dowdall is an accomplice and a potential Witness Protection Programme entrant and in light of the serious difficulties, the court is not prepared to act on his statement alone and requires corroborative evidence."
The court was satisfied that Gerard Hutch had authority over the three AK-47 rifles used in the Regency attack and was going to give them to dissident republicans whom he had asked to mediate in the feud.
"It was satisfied he had possession of the guns by 7 march 2016 at least, but it does not permit an inference to be drawn that he had possession since Regency. The audio shows Patsy Hutch had control and Gerard Hutch had difficulty getting them out of Buckingham Village.
"The court found the audio contains no direct admission that Gerard Hutch was present, indeed the opposite because he said nobody knows who was there. The court found it odd that Jonathan Dowdall did not say something about the previous confession at this point in their conversation, it seems strange he did not seek to clarify what was said.
"The reality is Gerard Hutch is viewed as head of Hutch family by Jonathan Dowdall but the audio does not establish Gerard Hutch's actual presence or participation in the murder but is consistent with the Hutch family being behind the Regency attack."
