Masked gunmen attacked an MTK boxing show’s weigh-in in 2016.
According to thejournal.ie, Jonathan Dowdall, 43, has been charged with the murder of David Byrne. Byrne was killed on February 5, 2016 when five armed men stormed a boxing weigh-in show at the Regency Hotel in Dublin. Byrne was an alleged top lieutenant in the Kinahan Organized Crime Group (KOCG).
Dowdall is a former Dublin north inner city councillor who represented the Sinn Féin party. In 2017 Dowdall was sentenced to 12 years in prison for imprisoning and torturing a man in his home in 2015. Footage recovered from a mobile phone showed Dowdall waterboarding the man while his father, Patrick Dowdall, threatened to pull the man’s fingers off with a pair of pliers. During the assault the Dowdalls told their victim that they were members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Patrick Dowdall has also been charged over the Regency Hotel shooting. He is accused of securing a room for gunmen inside the hotel. Both Dowdells, along with Paul Murphy, 59, and Jason Bonney, 57, are due to appear in court on June 14. Murphy and Bonney are accused of securing vehicles for the gunmen.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, alleged leader of the Hutch Gang, in connection with the shooting.
It is believed that the Regency Hotel Shooting was a part of the ongoing gang war between the Hutch Gang and the Kinahans. That feud began when Gary Hutch, Hutch’s nephew, was executed by suspected Kinahan associates in Spain in 2015.
After that killing alleged KOCG founder Christy Kinahan is thought to have tried to arrange a peace summit with Hutch, whom he was once friends with. Hutch is believed to have rejected the invitation. After this the Kinahans are accused of responding with more targeted killings of Hutch’s family members. There was also a failed assassination attempt against Hutch at a pub on the Spanish island of Lanzarote.
It is believed that the Regency Hotel Shooting was a direct response to the attempt on Hutch’s life.
It is thought that the intended target of the Regency Hotel Shooting was suspected KOCG leader Daniel Kinahan (Christy Kinahan’s son). The weigh-in that was happening during the shooting was for a Macklin’s Gym Marbella (MGM) boxing show.
Kinahan founded MGM with former pro boxer Matthew Macklin. After the shooting MGM re-branded at MTK Global. MTK then started claiming that Kinahan, who fled to Dubai after the shooting, was no longer involved in the company.
MTK’s denial of Kinahan’s involvement came despite numerous incidents where MTK’s growing client base of top international boxers and MMA fighters boasted about having Kinahan has their personal advisor.
Last year Tyson Fury publicly thanked Kinahan for negotiating his deals to fight Anthony Joshua. That announcement lead to Ireland’s government demanding a boycott of those fights and promising to share information regarding Kinahan with their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates.
Billy Joe Saunders, who is scheduled to face Canelo Alvarez, has also been a vocal supporter of Kinahan. Other fighters on MTK’s roster include boxers Carl Frampton, Michael Conlan, Natasha Jones and UFC fighters Darren Till, Alexander Rakic, Mounir Lazzez, Talia Santos and Sumudaerji.