Sean McGovern planned, oversaw and directed the murder of Noel Kirwan, the Special Criminal Court has been told.
McGovern was controlling the tracking device attached to the 62-year-old grandfather's car and directing the gunmen who were waiting at the victim’s home in Clondalkin.
Noel Kirwan was shot dead in his driveway on 22 December 2016.
McGovern, aged 40, has pleaded guilty to two charges of directing the activities of a criminal organisation relating to the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud in which he himself was shot.
His defence counsel said today that there were three tiers above McGovern in the Kinahan gang sub cell structure and that the father-of-two wanted to apologise for his actions.
McGovern's fingerprints were found on the instructions for a tracker device which had been placed on Kirwan’s car.
The Kinahan organised crime group had decided Kirwan was to be shot dead because he had been seen in a photograph with Gerard Hutch at the funeral of Gerard’s brother Eddie, also shot dead as part of the feud.
McGovern's DNA was also found on the laptop used to operate the tracking device and he was in direct phone contact with the two gunmen on the day Kirwan was murdered, three days before Christmas in 2016.
McGovern also made a call to the spy shop in Leeds where the gang had bought the tracker and soon afterwards it sent signals back to his laptop about Kirwan’s movements every 30 seconds instead of every four hours.
It meant McGovern could more closely track Kirwan on the day he was killed.
Watch: RTÉ Crime Correspondent Paul Reynolds on Sean McGovern hearing
In response to a question from the judge about the role McGovern played in the murder, Detective Sergeant Donal Daly told him McGovern had planned, overseen and directed the murder.
McGovern was controlling the tracking device and directing the gunmen who were waiting for Kirwan at his home and Det Sgt Daly said there was no evidence to suggest that McGovern was being directed by any other person.
However McGovern's defence counsel Michael Bowman submitted that there were three tiers above McGovern in the gang's sub cell structure and he was involved in surveillance, not planning, directing or providing firearms, cars and phones because "those on high" were directing that.
Mr Bowman said the information in the gang came from the top down and there was no evidence McGovern knew who was directing him.
He handed in testimonials from McGovern’s mother, father in law and uncle which described him as a talented soccer player when he was young who lost his father who was very close to him.
He was in a relationship with the mother of his two children for the past 18 years and is the "committed father" of two young girls.
His father in law said that the activities that McGovern has been involved in have brought "turmoil" to his family's lives although defence counsel stressed that the real victims here are Noel Kirwan’s family.
The prison governor’s report has shown McGovern is an enhanced prisoner who poses no difficulties or disciplinary problems in Portlaoise.
Defence Counsel also said that McGovern had "expressly instructed apology to all those who have been impacted and harmed as a result of his actions".
He also asked that McGovern be given additional credit on his sentence for time served in Dubai because he found prison there to be "difficult and onerous" particularly as "a foreigner".
However counsel for the State opposed this, saying that McGovern spent more time in prison there because he contested his extradition and "prolonged his time in custody".
Mr Justice Patrick McGrath said the court will sentence Sean McGovern on 8 June.
