Death toll in Kinahan-Hutch feud rises to 14
Derek Coakley Hutch, 27, was shot dead at 3pm on Saturday while waiting in his car at a halting site on Cloverhill Rd in Dublin’s Ballyfermot. The murder brings the death toll in the feud to 14 since it began in September 2015.
Derek Hutch, who lived in Dublin’s north inner city was not a major gangland player.
Gardaí said yesterday that they are looking for the public’s help in relation to two vehicles.
John Gordon of Lucan Garda Station said: “We would like the public’s assistance in the movement of the black VW Golf 05-CE-1675 which was found burnt out nearby shortly afterwards, and subsequent to that, at approximately 6.25pm, a black Toyota Avensis 04-D-72956 was found burnt out at the rear of the Snowdrop Walk in Darndale.
“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help us locate the movement of those vehicles, in particular people who may have dash cam footage to mark the movement of the vehicles.”
Residents of the Bridgeview halting site described the scene there on Saturday and how Mr Hutch was in the driver’s seat of a car while waiting for two friends, who had gone to the back of the site, where there are stables for horses.
“I went up and felt his pulse. I ran up to him. He had a very, very light pulse. I said a few prayers. So there was somebody there with him,” a local woman told the Irish Examiner.
“The [victim’s] mother came down last night and she came into my house. She never made it to Mass. She was going to Mass. She didn’t want anything [when offered tea]. She said she was too upset.”
The woman also said the halting site, which has about 25 homes in it, is a busy spot with different people coming and going because of the stables at the back of the property.
She said she did not recognise the victim or his friends.
“I never seen any of them before,” she said. “I wouldn’t have known them anyway. There’s that many that come in and out, that you don’t put any pass on them.”
The halting site backs on to Cloverhill remand prison.
Gary Gannon, Social Democrat councillor for Dublin’s north inner city, told the Irish Examiner that people in his area are “devastated” at the death of Mr Hutch.
“There are a lot of people I know who lost a friend and are devastated and that’s not captured through the prism of a feud,” he said.
“These are real lives. I would have remembered him from playing for Sherrif Youth Cub and then he played men’s football. He was a good amateur player. He played youth football his whole life.”
