NEIGHBOURS of Jonathan Dowdall are terrified they could get caught up in gang violence if he returns to his home, The Irish Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Authorities are still struggling to place the ex-Sinn Fein councillor in the Witness Protection Programme, according to reports, and he could return to live in their gated home if they can’t find a country to take them.
Dowdall is serving a four-year sentence in Limerick Prison for facilitating the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.
Since he pleaded guilty, his family have been under armed guard in a secret location.
Dowdall testified against Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch in his high-profile murder trial — but the three judges rejected his claim that Hutch told him he was part of the six-man hit team who murdered Byrne, and Hutch was found not guilty.
The Irish Sun reported earlier this year that nations were reluctant to take the State witness and his family because of the level of threat against him and his criminal past.
But after it was reported that his father Patrick — who has been freed from prison after serving a short sentence for the same offence as his son — was seen at the house, there are fears it could come under threat.
Armed gardai have also been seen outside the home on Dublin’s Navan Road in recent days, but there was no sign of them when The Irish Sun on Sunday called.
One local said: “There has been some movement at the house, the gardai were there one of the days but we haven’t seen the family.
“There will certainly be anger if armed gardai end up being a permanent fixture on the road or if Dowdall comes back.
“We only know what we’ve read in the papers but there are children on the road, there is a crèche around the corner, so we don’t know what kind of danger they could be put in.”
Another woman said: “No one will be happy if they come back.
“And if there is a genuine threat to lives, who knows what dangers could be brought on the area.”
