Jonathan Dowdall being prepared for new life overseas in witness protection
Jonathan Dowdall is expected to be 'spirited away' to begin a new life overseas
Former Sinn Féin councillor turned state witness Jonathan Dowdall is planning his move overseas as he enters the Witness Security Programme in the coming months.
The Sunday World understands that Dowdall, who testified against Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, was recently removed from Limerick Prison to finalise details and documentation before his imminent release. It is believed gardaí needed to take photos of him for travel purposes.
Sources said Dowdall, whose official release date is late October, could be 'spirited away' from the prison 'at any stage from now on' as specialist gardaí complete plans for his new life overseas.
The details of how and when the 44-year-old Dubliner will leave Ireland are known by only a small number of officers to ensure the safety of Dowdall and his family.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it does not comment on individual cases.
Prison bosses will be given minimal notice about when gardaí decide Dowdall is to relocated.
One source said he could be released in September, a few weeks early, but another said it will all be decided at the 'last minute'.
Dowdall and his father, Patrick, tortured and waterboarded a man in 2015
Dowdall is nearing the end of the sentence he received for his role in the murder of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel, Dublin, in February 2016.
He was due to go on trial alongside Hutch, but the murder charge against was dropped when he pleaded guilty to facilitating the killing and agreed to testify against Hutch.
Dowdall gave evidence during the trial at the Special Criminal Court, and Hutch walked free when he was found not guilty. In 2022, one day before Hutch's trial began, Dowdall was sentenced to four years in prison for facilitating the murder.
Dowdall has been in jail since 2017. He and his father, Patrick, tortured and waterboarded a man in 2015 in a dispute over a motorbike.
The father and son admitted falsely imprisoning Alexander Hurley and threatening to kill him. He was told his fingers would be pulled off one-by-one with pliers.
Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch. Photo: PA
People who enter witness relocation for their own protection are often set up with new lives and jobs in Australia or Canada.
The family of Limerick publican Roy Collins, who was murdered by members of the Dundon gang, entered witness relocation, but returned in 2019 after 10 years overseas.
Latest figures show that in 2023, the State budgeted nearly €1.2m for the programme, but it needed a supplement of €1m more.
The Witness Security Programme was set up in 1997 to combat attempts 'to prevent the normal functioning of the criminal justice system', including threats of violence and intimidation of witnesses.
It was introduced after the murder of Sunday Independent journalist Veronica Guerin, but has been openly criticised by judges and a former justice minister.
Charles Bowden and Russell Warren testified as protected witnesses against John Gilligan over the murder of Ms Guerin, of which Gilligan was ultimately acquitted. Both witnesses were later relocated under assumed identities.
In another case in 2011, a Crumlin man who testified against four former criminal associates became a state witness and entered the programme with members of his family.
A contract was placed on the life of Joseph O'Brien after he gave evidence in the murder trial of John 'Champagne' Carroll. O'Brien, his girlfriend and family — except one of his sisters, who declined to participate — left Ireland following the trial. The State accepted the witness played a role in Carroll's murder.
Jonathan Dowdall is expected to be 'spirited away' to begin a new life overseas
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