GERRY ‘THE MONK’ Hutch was with his family in Dublin today as they mourned the loss of their brother Eddie Senior and asked for there to be no retaliation against his killers.
The 52-year-old former criminal was pictured at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin’s north inner city, where a significant garda presence was deployed.
Despite his long, grey hair and black cap, he was recognised amongst hundreds of mourners.
The congregation heard how his older brother was a “good man” who “waited on ladies as they did their errands”, “shared a good joke” and was “the life of a party” and “good company in the pub”.
They were also told that “nobody deserves to die in the way that Neddy died”.
Eddie Senior’s family has asked for there to be no acts of retaliation for his murder.
Speaking during the 80-minute service, Fr Richard Ebejer noted that “one does not want the evil that one has experienced on others, not even on one’s enemies”.
“In other words, that means that one does not want to seek revenge or to have retaliation. This is what the family had asked for, right from the very beginning, that there will be no retaliation.”
A similar request was also made when Eddie Hutch’s nephew Gary was shot dead in Spain last September. The priest continued:
This is indeed ‘goodness’ in the face of evil. It was a request that unfortunately has not been respected, with the result that now more families are in bereavement. They now call on everybody for this cycle of violence to stop, and to stop now.
A gun attack at Dublin’s Regency Hotel where David Byrne was shot dead a fortnight ago is widely seen as a retaliation the killing of Gary Hutch. Three days after Byrne was killed, Eddie Hutch Snr was shot dead at his home.
Byrne was a known associate of the Kinahan crime gang – and his and Hutch’s deaths are part of an ongoing feud between two warring sides.
Gerry Hutch did not walk with the cortege from his sister’s house, nor did he carry the coffin – which was adorned with a taxi plate – into the church.
Armed gardaí in vans, patrol cars and blacked out jeeps patrolled the surrounding streets throughout the Mass.
Byrne’s funeral took place on Monday, with a similar large Garda operation in place to maintain safety in fear of any reprisal attacks.
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