THE TRIAL OF Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch is to begin in the Special Criminal Court today.

Hutch (58), who was extradited from Spain, is charged with the murder of David Byrne (33) at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, Dublin, on 5 February 2016.

Byrne’s murder sparked the bloody Kinahan/Hutch feud which claimed at least 18 lives since 2016. 

In September last year, Hutch was brought to court under heavy security just hours after a Casa 235 military plane flew him directly from Madrid to Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnell in the southwest of Dublin.

Last April, the High Court issued a European Arrest Warrant following an application from the Director of Public Prosecutions for the arrest of Hutch, who was wanted to face trial in Ireland.

David Byrne (34), from Crumlin, was shot dead at the hotel on the Swords Road in Dublin in February 2016 after five men, three disguised as armed gardaí, stormed the building, which was hosting a boxing weigh-in at the time.