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The shooting of David Byrne happened on February 5, 2016 at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall, Dublin.
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Before shooting
He had been investigated by every Garda specialist unit since he was a teenager. He was present at the fatal stabbing of Declan Gavin in August 2001 in Crumlin, Dublin. He was called as a witness in the trial of Brian Rattigan for the killing, but said he had seen nothing.
David Byrne had been arrested many times and was a suspect in the murder of Gary Bryan in Walkinstown in 2006.
In January 2016 Gardaí had a special policing plan put in place for the following month when two boxing events would be attented by members of a criminal gang associated with Christy Kinahan. The Kinahan gang have a long association with boxing both in Dublin and Marbella.
Shooting
The weigh-in was for the WBO European Lightweight title fight between Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Jao Bento. Four attackers, two of whom were disguised as members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit and armed with AK-47s. They escaped in a Ford Transit which was later found burnt-out. Two men were also injured and taken to the Mater Private Hospital and Beaumont Hospital.
It is believed that Daniel Kinahan, the son of Christy Kinahan, was the intended target but left early.
One line of investigation is that the shooting revenge for the murder of Gary Hutch in Spain in September 2015.
Because of the shooting, the scheduled boxing match was cancelled.
Funeral
Because of the length of time his body would be waked at his parents' house before the funeral, special security measures were put in place. The funeral was held at the church of St Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street. Gardaí checked the church before and after the ceremony for explosives but the funeral passed without incident and the hearse went to Mount Jerome Cemetery.
Criminal charges
On 18 May 2016 Patrick Hutch, the brother of Gary Hutch, was charged at the Criminal Courts of Justice with the murder of David Byrne. There was no application for bail, the defendant was granted free legal aid and remanded to appear in Clover Hill District Court on 25 May.