Prominent gangland figure Gerry Hutch is considering running as an independent in the upcoming general election, in the hope of unseating Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Mr Hutch (61), who was acquitted last year of organising the Regency Hotel gun attack which accelerated the Hutch-Kinahan feud, is examining the possibility of running in Dublin Central, a four-seat constituency comprising the north inner city where he grew up.
Rumours have spread over the last week that Mr Hutch was considering a Dáil run. On Sunday, a number of local sources confirmed he has been contemplating contesting the election for the last several weeks and is close to a decision.
One source, who is close to the family, said one of Mr Hutch’s primary motivations is to take votes away from Sinn Féin, which is currently significantly down in the polls and dealing with several controversies.
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In the 2020, Ms McDonald topped the poll in Dublin Central with 35 per cent of first preference votes.
Mr Hutch has harboured a deep animosity towards Sinn Féin since the Regency trial, when former party member and Dublin city councillor Jonathan Dowdall gave evidence that he masterminded the 2016 attack with the goal of killing rival criminal Daniel Kinahan.
The Special Criminal Court rejected Dowdall’s evidence after he was caught out in several lies. It acquitted Mr Hutch of murder but said it was satisfied he had authority over the three AK-47 rifles used in the attack.
Mr Hutch has 30 previous convictions and is believed to be behind some of the largest robberies in the history of the State.
It is not clear if he believes he can win a seat or if he intends to run solely as a spoiler candidate. He has significant support in the north inner city, where he established Corinthians, a well-known boxing club in Summerhill which trained Olympic champion Kelly Harrington.
However, it is not clear if he has any strong support in the rest of the constituency which includes Cabra, Drumcondra and Phibsborough.
“He hasn’t a hope of getting enough votes outside of his home turf,” said a local political source.
However, it remains “theoretically possible” he could take enough votes away from Ms McDonald to endanger her re-election chances, given the party’s current precarious position, the source said.
“There’s certainly an element of revenge to it,” said another source close to the family.
Members of the Hutch family did not respond to a request for comment when contacted on Sunday.
Mr Hutch splits his time between his home in Clontarf, Dublin and the Spanish island of Lanzarote. He remains a frequent visitor to the north inner city where many of his family and friends still live.
It is not known if Mr Hutch intends to run a traditional campaign involving posters and door-to-door canvassing.
Any in-person campaigning will likely raise a number of security concerns. Mr Hutch has been the target of a several failed assassination attempts and has in the past been officially warned by gardaí of threats to his life.
However, the threat to him as lessened significantly in recent years and he now moves about freely in Dublin with no visible protection.
“He will receive the same treatment as anyone else,” said a Garda source. “If a threat is uncovered he will be advised of that and told to take appropriate measures.”
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