DAVID Byrne’s loyalty to Daniel Kinahan cost him his life.
This was the view of cops after watching chilling CCTV of Byrne’s last moments at the Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016.
The footage — first revealed by The Irish Sun— shows Byrne running for his life but doubling back to check on his boss.
Once he did that, he encountered two gunmen dressed in Garda Emergency Response Unit gear.
Within seconds of the encounter, Byrne was shot at point-blank range.
As the gunman jumped on top of the hotel lobby reception desk, he fired another shot into Byrne’s lifeless body.
From the encounter, it was clear the shooter knew who he was killing.
Before the feud, Byrne had spent many hours in the company of Gary Hutch in Spain and Gerry Hutch in Lanzarote.
They were once one big, happy family.
Although Kinahan was the intended target, Byrne was an active member of the Kinahan cartel at the time.
Cops also classified him as a Liam Byrne Organised Crime Group member.
This was a crime mob run by Byrne’s brother Liam and part of the Kinahan cartel’s Irish and UK operation.
David Byrne’s job was to act as an enforcer and to intimidate those who had not coughed up for drugs.
At the time of his murder, he was a key target for officers in Crumlin.
A first cousin of Fat Freddie Thompson, David Byrne also provided logistical support to Freddie when he waged war on Brian Rattigan in the Crumlin and Drimnagh feud between 2001 and 2016.
One former investigator told us: “He wasn’t a household name but he commanded respect because of his surname and who he was related to.
“Byrne wasn’t a criminal mastermind, but he wasn’t afraid to dish out violence.
“The Hutch hit team knew him quite well and shot him because they knew he was in the Kinahan cartel.”
Veteran criminal Gerry Hutch was found not guilty of Byrne’s murder after a 13-week trial.