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LOCALS LIVING AROUND Poplar Row, where Eddie Hutch was shot dead last night, have described him as a good man who was not heavily involved in the gangland scene.
It was quiet in the area this morning as people went about daily tasks, starting their commute to work and bringing their children to school. Some were only finding out there had been a murder as they passed by the cordon and asked the garda stationed there what was going on.
A father-of-five, someone who had lived in their community for a long time, had been shot dead in his home.
One local, who did not wish to be named, described Hutch, who worked as a taxi driver, as “a decent guy”, adding that he was “definitely outside criminality”.
The 59-year-old brother of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch was not known to gardaí as a violent criminal. He had minor crimes against his name but was not currently active in the criminal or gangland scene.
One of his taxi customers, Daniel Doran, told TheJournal.ie that ‘Hutch was also a friend.
“He was a great taxi driver and a good man. He worked the rank on Parnell Street and would drive myself and my wife hundreds of times, many early trips in the morning to the airport.
“He always had a smile for everyone and even though we knew his brother was involved in criminality, we also knew Hutch (as we always called him) wasn’t.
He was ashamed of the criminality his name was associated with and didn’t speak of it.
“He was killed because he was a soft target. He is a victim, and I hope his murderer is brought to justice. He was a wonderful person.”
Doran said he would tell his Russian wife to ask for Hutch at the rank “because she knew as a woman alone in the car with him that he could not only be trusted but would make sure she got to the destination and in the door”.
He was better than a decent man, he was good man. I miss him dearly. I am saddened by this, I feel so bad for his children. He was a victim and I hope his murderers will be found and prosecuted with the fullest extent of the law.
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Gary Gannon, a local general election candidate for the Social Democrats, grew up in the area and was at the scene this morning.
He said there was a “genuine sadness” and “a definite sense of fear” in the community.
The victim last night, he wasn’t known to be involved in any sort of criminality, he’s been around the north inner city for a long time.
Despite the picture now being portrayed of who Eddie Hutch Senior was, he became a victim in the escalating feud between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs. Many have suggested his door was knocked down last night because he was such a soft or easy target.
‘A changed world’
Local woman Kitty Behan spoke, as she waited for her bus, about “a changed world”.
It’s terrible to think they can just come out and shoot someone.
She did not know the victim, and like others in the area, she is not exactly surprised by the retaliation shooting.
Kitty is used to seeing crime around where she lives.
“You wouldn’t know what these fellas are up to. Up on the bridge, there’d be a lot of fellas selling [drugs] up there. One day last week the fellas were like a flock of pigeons, buying the drugs off them. Police can’t do anything about it, all they can do is take the drugs off them.”
Similarly, another man spoke of being mugged twice in the vicinity in the past.
“If they want to go off and kill each other, work away,” he commented, as he stood at the scene.
While everyone spoke of criminal activity in the area, they all stressed that this was not indicative of the type of people who lived there.
Gannon described it as an “incredibly decent working-class community where people work hard”.
And Kitty Behan was matter-of-fact about it: “No matter where you’re living, it’s all the same anyway. Sometimes it’s just bad luck.”
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I could be wrong but I get the feeling this guy was shot for the sake of his second name. Doesnt seem to have been involved with the level of drug dealing that the others are
I live in the City Centre, very close to where that shooting took place yesterday evening and I regularly see drugs being sold openly on the street. Drug pushers don’t have any fear of being caught because there is no visible Garda presence anywhere! It’s a free for all, get your brown in the centre of town, free delivery service available.
The lad who was shot dead at the hotel seemed to be at the higher level of organised crime. The Sunday World had pictures of him driving a jeep worth 200k.. Eddie Hutch it seems was still working as a Taxi Driver and had minor convictions years ago… As his neighbours said, he was a soft target..
David Dickson you can’t tar them all with the same brush, i know fellas who have serious convictions and come from lovely families including garda members siblings
Robert, I never said it was the Guards fault, you’re making a wild assumption. There is no deterrent for drug dealers because there is no coordinated approach between the Government, Gardai and Judiciary to effectively tackle the problem. Pathetic sentences handed down to repeat offenders because of mitigating circumstances such as, “your honour, he came from a broken home but is trying to mend his ways”. Drug dealing has now become a career move for young people because our spineless government have decided to turn a blind eye to criminal activities in the city.
“not heavily involved in the gangland scene” is what the person who wrote this included, lets look what is in actual quotes in the article:
One local said…. “a decent guy”, “definitely outside criminality”
Social Democrat’s Gary Gannon, who grew up in the area: “The victim last night, he wasn’t known to be involved in any sort of criminality”
So unless the journalist has other information not included in the article it would seem there is not evidence to suggest he was involved in criminality at all, and the “journalist” should be ashamed of themselves and alter it immediately
Well CAB successfully seized 156k he had in a bank account in his own name so whether he was “definitely outside criminality” is not even up for debate.
Bull, now doubt he was involved in some way the past, but the article is about the local community reaction to last nights shooting. The author clearly states in the first sentence that “locals described him as a good man who was not heavily involved in the gangland scene” when that not the way he was described at all. Contrast this with the quotes of what the locals are quoted saying, and specifically the SD rep who described him as not involved in any sort of criminality. Therefore “not heavily involved” is the authors spin and should not be used to describe what the locals said about the man
I live 2 minute’s from his house. He has often picked me and my nan up to take me to the hospital. He was a quite man from what I know of him. He always helped me in with my oxygen and bag’s. I don’t really care what other people say about him, he was always nice enough to me and me nan.
She didn’t say he was a decent man. She said he was always nice enough to her and her Nan. No need to jump down her throat, you moron. She’s speaking off personal experience. Which is more than you have.
Ha ha pit bull calls me a moron, getting a bit nervous about all that nice man and decent fella crap is getting ripped apart piece by piece?
Anyway nice man, decent man not a big difference! Who cares if he’s been nice to his neighbours it doesn’t mean a thing! Many serial killers have been described as nice and caring by neighbours and work mates.
Matt did you know the man ? You seem gleeful this man was murdered, shot several times in the head in his home. Think about it for a moment, the act itself, the brutality of it. Because family members of his are involved he was was killed, it’s sad beyond words, anyone who knew him says he was a likeable kind working man but you don’t care because his family are criminals. ….. enough said
I already said he probably didn’t deserve it, he wasn’t a major player and probably inactive. However laundering money for the family does not exactly make him a saint either and all that decent fella, good/nice man crap getting on my nerves!
And I’m not happy about someone getting shot in his home but a family that lives by the sword dies by the sword if he would have cut loose all ties with his brother, sons and cousins he wouldn’t have been a target and if my kids are ruthless criminals I have some responsibility as a father! 1 bad apple in the family comes down to the individual but almost the whole family you can see a pattern.
Nice man, decent man not much of a difference!
Anyway how the man treated his neighbours is completely irrelevant to assess his level of involvement in the family business!
A certain Ted Bundy was described by neighbours and colleagues as nice, helpful and likeable.
Matt, it’s one thing to troll the comments section of a random news article but it is something altogether different to troll an article where someone has lost their life.
You can hide away behind your fake profile, like many of us here, but you can’t hide away from the rotten person you evidently are.
Matt look up the word compassion, then look at the man’s picture, think about what the people that actually knew him said about him, then think about what happened to him, having his ife so violently stole. I just find it both extremely sad and blood boiling at the same time. Try and have some compassion or are you as cold as his killers ?
There’s a difference between being sanctimonious and being correct.
You don’t know the deceased and you appear to have ignored all reports – including that of the Garda – which indicates that this man was not actively involved in crime. However you continue to argue the case as if this man’s death was the result of his own choices? I think you need to look again at who is the moron in this situation.
Let’s have a look a what you have said so far –
- You’ve compared him to a serial killer
- You’ve stated that he “probably” didn’t serve it (as if “probably” was something good??)
- You’ve stated that he lived by the sword
- Your “1 bad apple” comment insinuates that he was the same as the others in his family
All this is three comments.
Again – the Garda have already confirmed that this man was not actively involved in crime. However you continue to argue an almost “there’s no smoke without fire” argument without supplying any evidence to back it yourself up.
It’s funny that you described me as being sanctimonious (definition: being morally superior to others), given that you have completely cast judgment on this man, with no evidence other than the assumption that, given his family, he’s probably guilty of something. If anyone is being sanctimonious my friend, it is you.
This decent guy crap is disgraceful. The same can be said about Whitey Bolger. He fed many families in South Boston, Mafia Dons have been known to be generous to the poor but they are killers and money launderers.. This man was not investigated by CAB for putting too much money in the collection box mass
The guards were out in force last night and yet they couldn’t protect him. What chance have they of protecting 12 jurors when jerry abolishes the non jury courts?
It seems this man was shot because they couldn’t get his brother not for anything he was personally involved in. Might be hard to believe but you are dealing with absolute toe rags.
A bank account, that although was in his name, was seized while investigating his brother. There were also accounts set up in his sister and mothers name…. AND IT WAS 16 YEARS AGO.
Nobody is claiming that this chap had a clean record to his name but it’s widely report by all – including the Garda themselves – that he’s was not involved in criminal activity and that he was most likely targeted because he was an easy hit.
If you are going to make such statements about someone who was brutally murdered only 24 hours ago, at least have the decency to afford a bit of respect for the deceased by being accurate in your summary .
Eddie Hutch was the salt of the earth, a really good person, did no harm to anyone, you should take those words back because you’re speaking ill of the dead there, he was no gangster.
Drug related crime was allowed get out of hand by the Gardai in Dublin. It’s being dealt and used all over the city and can been seen by everyone . Yet nothing was done for years and still nothing is being done.
The damaged has been done by a lax attitude by the Gardai. This then adds to the attitude towards the gangs.
The Gardaí have their hands tied by the fact that every single judge will listen to the “my client is reformed now as he has a six-week-old daughter to take care of” type of bullshit and then let them off (i.e. suspended sentence).
Lax attitude? At any given time there at 6 gardai scheduled for duty in pearse st stn to deal with a large area in the centre of the capital. They’re under-manned, under-resourced, under-paid, with morale riding low.
If you want to point a finger of blame point it squarely and francis fitzgerald and her immediate predecessor for refusing to adequately supply the force with the resources needs to deal with such issues. And come polling day make a change.
It has nothing to do with resources. The Gardai still have more resources than they had 10 or 15 years ago. Unfortunately many of those resources are sitting on their arses behind desks, and that’s the fault of Garda management.
One wonders how many more murders the Gardai will be able to get away with blaming on a lack of resources?
You put your finger on it Mike. A recent report estimated that there were about 1500 gardai behind desks who could and should be redeployed to policing. Why do we waste so much tax payers money on putting recruits through training in order to have a large volume of them pushing pens behind desks instead of using their training to catch bad guys? A garda receives 104 weeks (2 years) training at a cost of €9200. Do we want to put recruits through this to ultimately have them filling out passport forms? Hire civilians to do the desk work and get the gardai out on the beat.
The Garda Inspectorate report said there are well over a 1,000 gardai that can be moved from desk duty to out in the streets almost immediately. Bear in mind this report was by police from other jurisdictions so it really highlights the wastage going in in Ireland when it comes to an Garda Siochana. Before the gardai management start going on about resources why the hell don’t they get all those gardai sitting around out in the beat. Until then this resources issue is a load of crap and the government and top garda management are to blame for not reorganising the force. 20 gardai could go a water meter protest with the same amount of protestors yet I’d be surprised if this amount were patrolling the city centre in Dublin at any one time.
Eddie was a solid gold guy. One off the nicest taxi drivers and a decent fella who always had a smile for you. This is disgusting and obviously a reprisal killing. It’s one thing for them to be killing each other but Eddie wasn’t a gangster. Many mornings he’d drive me and wife to work, always smiling and joking. God dammit this just isn’t right.
A drug dealer?!? You’re off you’re head the poor man’s taxi barely fit to work out of, and at times he wa soft the road for a stretch due to repairs. If he was a drug dealer (and he wasn’t) he would have had to have been the worst drug dealer ever. You have no idea who or what you’re talking about.
Michelle you are truly a great comedic writer. I love the bit about it was quiet this morning as they went about their daily commute to work . Fantastic well done
So the government will send in 40 Gardai to protect water meter installers from peaceful protesters but a hotel which has a well publicised meeting of many well known criminals has a Garda presence of ZERO. Nice to know our leaders have their priorities right
There also killing each other over the highly profitable drug trade that has Dublin City looking like a Walking Dead backdrop. So yeah, plenty to care about.
Tramps talking about a 58 yr old man who was a very nice man so if ur son or cousin does wrong means it’s OK for you to b killed morons all same comment on this
Is he involved in crime? Is he not involved in crime? Don’t try and make the killing a little bit more justifiable by trying to determine if he was involved in crime. No one has the right to take someone else’s life via a bullet especially when at times innocent people get dragged into it.
1.
a person who has committed a crime.
“these men are dangerous criminals”
synonyms: lawbreaker, offender, villain, delinquent, malefactor, culprit, wrongdoer, transgressor, sinner; More
young offender, juvenile delinquent;
felon, thief, robber, armed robber, burglar, housebreaker, shoplifter, mugger, rapist, fraudster, swindler, racketeer, gunman, gangster, outlaw, bandit, terrorist, bioterrorist, narcoterrorist, ecoterrorist, cyberterrorist, agroterrorist;
yakuza;
informalcrook, con, jailbird, (old) lag, lifer, baddy;
informalyardbird, yegg;
informalcrim;
informallighty;
informaltief;
rhyming slangtea leaf;
informalcracksman;
malfeasant, misfeasor, infractor;
archaicmiscreant, trespasser, trusty, transport;
rarepeculator, defalcator
“she struck up a friendship with a convicted criminal”
adjective
adjective: criminal
1.
relating to crime.
“he is charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage”
synonyms: unlawful, illegal, against the law, illicit, illegitimate, lawbreaking, lawless, felonious, delinquent, culpable, villainous, nefarious, corrupt, fraudulent; More
indictable, punishable, actionable, unauthorized, unsanctioned, outlawed, banned, forbidden, interdicted, proscribed;
wrong, bad, evil, wicked, iniquitous;
informalcrooked, shady, dirty;
informalbent, dodgy;
malfeasant
“they were found guilty of criminal conduct”
antonyms: lawful
Law
relating to crime as opposed to civil matters.
“a criminal court”
2.
informal
(of an action or situation) deplorable and shocking.
“he may never fulfil his potential, and that would be a criminal waste”
synonyms: deplorable, preposterous, shameful, reprehensible, disgraceful, inexcusable, unforgivable, unpardonable, unacceptable; More
Ugh the typical Irish attitude, “Ah sher he was only a soft criminal” or the “He was lovely to me”. Fxck right off, he a convicted criminal none the less.
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