Jonathan Dowdall claims Gerry Hutch told him he was one of the men who shot David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.
The former Sinn Féin councillor has begun his testimony before the three judges of the non-jury court. Jonathan Dowdall was brought into the courtroom under heavy guard.
Mr Hutch has pleaded not guilty to Byrne’s murder.
Dowdall told the Special Criminal Court Mr Hutch was “upset” when he admitted he and another man shot Mr Byrne and he “wasn’t happy about shooting the young lad”.
He began his evidence by telling the court he has known Gerry Hutch since he was a teenager but was much closer to his brother, Patsy, who used to lend him money when his electrical business had cash flow problems.
At Patsy’s request, he claimed he and his father, Patrick Dowdall, dropped off some key cards to a room at the Regency Hotel. He claimed they were handed over to Gerry Hutch the night before the attack.
A few days later, he claimed Gerry asked him to meet him in a small park. He described him as being ‘in a panic‘ and claimed he told him he and another man had shot David Byrne.
He said he was ‘very agitated‘ and ‘not himself‘ and wanted him to set up a meeting with his Republican contacts because he feared a lot of innocent people were going to be killed.
