Two men convicted of acting as getaway drivers for the Hutch organised crime group on the day Kinahan gang member David Byrne was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in Dublin have lost their appeals against conviction at the Court of Appeal.
Paul Murphy, 63, of Cherry Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin, and 55-year-old Jason Bonney, of Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Dublin 13, were both convicted at the Special Criminal Court of facilitating the Hutch criminal organisation in carrying out the murder in February 2016.
Murphy was jailed for nine years, while Bonney was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
They had claimed their trial at the Special Criminal Court was "unfair" and that the three judges had made "sweeping conclusions" that were not available on the evidence.
However, the Court of Appeal today rejected every one of their 38 grounds of appeal.
It found that uncautioned garda interviews with the two men were admissible, that they were lawfully arrested and detained, and that the verdicts were not unsafe.
It rejected the two men's complaints about the treatment of defence witnesses who gave alibi evidence, the admissibility of rebuttal evidence to that testimony, and the admissibility of CCTV evidence which showed the movements of the two men's cars on the day of the murder.
It also found that the Special Criminal Court was correct to admit evidence from garda searches at "the centre of operations" in Buckingham Street, at Patsy Hutch's home on Champions Avenue where a key card was found, and of taxi receipts which were found in Murphy's taxi.
Paul Murphy had also claimed that he knew the Hutch family when he was young but there was no evidence that he knew Eddie and Patsy Hutch were members of the Hutch organised crime group
However, the Court of Appeal rejected this claim and said the Special Criminal Court had not erred when it found Murphy was aware of the existence of the Hutch organised crime group and that there was "indeed a sufficient evidential basis for his conviction on the charge".
Mr Justice John Edwards said the three judges "have not been satisfied to uphold any of the grounds of appeal" and both men's appeals against convictions have been dismissed.
The court was told both men are also appealing the severity of their sentences.
Paul Murphy and Jason Bonney were tried from January to April 2023 alongside Gerard Hutch, whom the Special Criminal Court found to be the "figurehead" and "the patriarchal figure" of the Hutch organised crime group.
Gerard Hutch was acquitted of the murder of David Byrne.
