Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 1940Murder · Co. Dublin

Eyewitness recounts 2016 Regency Hotel murder of David Byrne that sparked Dublin gangland war

David Byrne, a member of the Kinahan Cartel, was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in Dublin during a boxing weigh-in in February 2016, while the intended target, Daniel Kinahan, escaped unharmed. Gunmen armed with what appeared to be AK-47s and wearing tactical SWAT gear carried out the shooting. The murder sparked a feud between the Hutch and Kinahan crime families that claimed 18 lives in total. In April 2025, an eyewitness published a first-person account of the event in connection with the BBC documentary 'Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland's Mafia'.

  1. Reported3 Apr
  2. Arrested
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • David Byrne, a Kinahan Cartel member, was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in Dublin during a boxing weigh-in in February 2016.
  • Daniel Kinahan, co-founder of the MGM boxing promotion, was the intended target of the shooting but escaped unharmed.
  • The murder sparked a feud between the Hutch and Kinahan crime families that claimed 18 lives in total.
Where
The shooting took place at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.
When
The murder occurred in February 2016.
Weapon
The gunmen were armed with what appeared to be AK-47s and wore tactical SWAT gear.
Other details
An eyewitness published a first-person account of the shooting in April 2025 in connection with the BBC documentary 'Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland's Mafia'.
7 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatDavid Byrne, a Kinahan Cartel member, was shot dead at the Regency Hotel (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatDaniel Kinahan was the intended target of the assassination but escaped unharmed (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe murder sparked a feud between the Hutch and Kinahan crime families that claimed 18 lives in total (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereThe shooting occurred at the Regency Hotel in Dublin during a boxing weigh-in (irishmirror.ie)
  • whenThe murder took place in February 2016 (irishmirror.ie)
  • weaponThe gunmen were armed with what appeared to be AK-47s and wore tactical SWAT gear (irishmirror.ie)
  • otherDaniel Kinahan was the co-founder of the MGM boxing promotion (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 3 Apr2025
    Reportedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    I witnessed Kinahan gang murder that led to war and won't forget one thing

    First-person eyewitness account published in connection with the BBC documentary 'Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland's Mafia'; describes the scene of the shooting, the gunmen's appearance and weapons, the immediate aftermath, and the author's personal experience of the event nine years later.

    victim, David Byrne, male, irish (judged from name)David Byrnevictim, Daniel Kinahan, male, irish (judged from name)Daniel Kinahan