Real-life story behind family fans think inspired brutal gangland drama labelled 'greatest Irish TV show' (2024)

For some strange reason, a lot of us like to soothe ourselves with a gritty crime drama before we go to sleep - but if you were aware of the real stories which inspired them, chances are you'd be up all night.

After roaring success on the BBC, the series - which has been dubbed the 'greatest Irish TV show' ever made - has recently dropped on Netflix, so prepare for people to continue talking about it until the cows come home.

Kin focuses on a fictional Dublin crime family embroiled in a gangland war against an international cartel that massively outgun them.

Although writer Peter McKenna has denied that Kin is based on the real-life Hutch-Kinahan feud which has plagued Ireland for the last decade, there are some eerie parallels between them both that fans have picked up on.

The reality might not be as glamorous as what happens on the show, but it's certainly gorier - as the dispute between the two major criminal organisations left 18 people dead in the space of three years.

Friends to foes

The two main players in this real-life battle are Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch, who is the leader of the Hutch gang, and Daniel Kinahan, who heads up the Kinahan Family and was reportedly friends with Tyson Fury.

It all kicked off between the two sides back in September 2015, when Gerry's nephew, Gary, was shot dead by the rival gang in Spain.

The victim reportedly once held a senior role in the Kinahan organised crime group and was described as Daniel's 'right-hand man' from 2008 by Spanish police - until he was accused of being a 'rat' in February 2014.

After a €10 million cartel shipment of ketamine and cannabis was seized by UK cops in Cheshire, he was shunned as a snake and decided to seek revenge by arranging for a hitman to murder Daniel outside his Estepona home.

But it didn't go to plan as the target survived - and it ultimately spelled the end of any kind of mutual respect or association that the Hutchs and Kinahans had with each other, even though there were attempts to fix things.

The Hutchs gave their rivals €200,000 as compensation and in a bid to protect Gary, but it did little to remedy the situation and the 34-year-old was shot dead at his apartment block in Marbella on 25 September, 2015.

James Quinn, 35, was later jailed for 22 years after being found guilty of participating in the killing.

The Regency Hotel

Just two weeks after the murder of Gary, Christy Kinahan - Daniel's dad - allegedly put a €10,000 bounty on the head of his younger brother, Derek, while he was serving a prison sentence, but he survived the attack.

Following this, an associate of the Hutch's, Darren Kearns, was shot dead in front of his horrified wife after leaving a Dublin restaurant - but this was just the start of the blood that would be spilled.

Throughout 2016, Ireland was gripped by gangland violence as the feud became increasingly brutal.

On 5 February of that year, Daniel - who was a boxing promoter - was attending the Regency Hotel in Dublin for a weigh-in ahead of a clash for the European Lightweight title, when armed attackers burst in wielding AK-47s.

Two wore masks, army style-helmets and flak jackets, while the other pair had disguised themselves by dressing as police officers as they ambushed the event - seemingly intent on killing Daniel.

But he managed to escape with his dad Christy, however, their associate David Byrne was shot dead in front of the crowd of spectators, while two others were also injured.

Patrick Hutch, Gary's brother, was initially charged with murder and possession of firearms, but the trial collapsed in 2019 following the suicide of a lead investigator. All charges against Patrick were dropped. Gerry was also arrested in connection with the shooting in 2021, although he was later acquitted.

Bloodbath

Gerry's brother and Gary's uncle, Eddie, was murdered at his Dublin home just three days after the events at the Regency on 8 February, 2016. The investigation into his death remains ongoing.

Things quickly began to spiral after this and a lot of innocent people got caught in the crossfire due to mistaken identity.

The Kinahan gang are alleged to have then targeted Vincent Ryan, also shooting him dead, before taking aim at one of Gerry's friend's, Noel 'Kingsize' Duggan and killing him outside of his home in March of that year.

A man named Martin O'Rourke was then gunned down on 14 April in a case of mistaken identity, before Michael Barr was murdered just weeks later as he was suspected of being involved in the Hutch's plot to ambush the Regency.

Gareth Hutch, who was regarded as a minor figure in the underworld, was then fatally shot on 24 May.

The death of David Douglas outside of a shop in Dublin then came on 1 July, before Dublin City Council worker Trevor O'Neill was also killed in Magaluf on 17 August in front of his family in another case of mistaken identity.

In December 2016, Gerry's close pal Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan was also murdered outside of his home in Dublin due to his suspected ties to the Hutch family.

Amid these ten tragic murders, it seems that the Hutch-Kinahan feud had turned tit for tat, with no end in sight.

Gerry's other nephew, Derek Coakley-Hutch, was then shot on 20 January, 2018, before his friend and well known criminal Jason Molyneux was also gunned down ten days later after attending Derek's funeral.

A distant relation of the Hutch family and street trader Clive Staunton was also killed on 15 November, 2018, which police also believe to be in connection with the feud.

A month later, Eric Fowler was shot in the head and killed at his home on 22 December after cops warned him there was a credible threat to his life.

Kinfolk

As you can see, there's plenty for someone with an eye for a story to work with when it comes to the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

McKenna might not have used it as inspiration, but all these events are certainly something which could certainly be turned into a Netflix series.

As we mentioned earlier, Gerry Hutch was arrested in 2021 in connection with the Regency Hotel murder of David Byrne, but was found not guilty and freed in 2022, before he returned to Lanzarote.

Daniel Kinahan, on the other hand, is said to be living in a luxury pad in Dubai - but he remains a wanted man over the murder of Eddie Hutch.

The US government offered a $5m (£3.9m) reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of key figures of the Kinahan organised crime group in 2022, in relation to the smuggling of 'deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe'.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix/PA

Topics:True Crime, Crime, Ireland, BBC, TV and Film