Sammy Hutch gets six more years in jail for possession of improvised pipe bomb

By Isabel Hayes

A member of the Hutch family who is “not a gangland Hutch” has been jailed for a further six years for possession of an improvised pipe bomb two years ago.

Sammy Hutch (50) is currently serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence for robbery with a release date of April 2029.

Hours before he was caught by gardaí crouching behind some trees in April 2024, Sammy Hutch texted an accomplice telling him he had a pipe bomb and what would this person think about him attaching it to the gas metres of an unspecified 'gaff'. “My treat, bang bang,” he wrote.

Two days into his Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial last November, Hutch (50) pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an explosive device at his home in Cardiffsbridge Avenue, Finglas, in the early hours of April 30yj, 2024.

He has 103 previous convictions.

Sentencing on Monday, Judge Patricia Ryan said the aggravating factors in the case included the nature of the device found and the allegation that Hutch had it in his possession for an unlawful purpose.

She noted the court heard from an expert outlining the elements of the device, which was “ready to go”.

She set a headline sentence of nine years, which she reduced to six years. She ordered that the sentence run consecutively to the robbery sentence that was handed down last January.

At the sentence hearing, Garda Margaret Revins told John Moher BL, prosecuting, that she and a colleague were on patrol in Finglas on the night in question when they noticed a man with a backpack crouching behind some trees shortly after 1am.

They approached the man, Hutch – who fled the scene back to his house. When gardaí eventually gained access to his home and searched the bag, they found a mask, screwdriver, gloves, vice grips, a hammer and a Stanley blade.

A further search of the bag then revealed the improvised pipe bomb, which had a rag containing an accelerant sticking out of it and contained screws, putty and a “green flake-like material”.

Hutch was subdued with the use of pepper spray before being arrested, while members of the defence forces were called to Finglas Garda Station to disable the device. The garda station had to be evacuated as a result, the court heard.

When Hutch's phone was analysed, it was found to contain the messages to an accomplice discussing the pipe bomb and saying he was “reporting for duty at 0200 hours”.

His previous convictions include burglary, theft, robbery, drugs and criminal damage offences.

Paul Greene SC, defending, said his client “has a surname that requires the question, but he is not involved in any gangland activities”. “He is not a gangland Hutch, to be blunt,” Mr Greene said.

He said Hutch had a long history of drug abuse, and most of his previous convictions related to crimes associated with addiction.

He got clean for a period in 2020 before relapsing, the court heard. He has had a difficult time in custody and was scalded with the contents of a kettle during a recent assault, defence counsel said

Two of his sisters were supportive of him in court, and a letter was handed up from a horse and pony club in Finglas outlining his work there.

After the sentence was handed down, Mary Hanafin BL, for the defence, requested that legal aid be extended in the event of an appeal.