Rex Ryan's foray into the life of Gerard Hutch is thought-provoking
When watching The Monk at Glass Mask Theatre that age-old adage about the truth and a good story might spring to mind. It wouldn't be the first time that a gangland veteran became the subject of an artistic endeavour — after all, we've had The General about the life of Martin Cahill and John Gilligan and Traynor were also committed to celluloid in Veronica Guerin, the film about the murder of the Sunday Independent journalist.
In that, Alan Devine played Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch long before he was found not guilty of the Regency Hotel murders in 2023 and subsequently unsuccessfully ran for election a year later.
But it's another leap that Rex Ryan has taken — devising a play about his one-time neighbour after a chance meeting with Hutch's son Jason who he knew from his neighbourhood of Clontarf. Ryan writes, directs and stars in The Monk after meeting with Gerry Hutch a number of times to discuss the man's life. Rex Ryan as a younger Gerard Hutch.
Hutch has given Ryan carte blanche to portray his life as Ryan sees it, and so though facts were checked and insight into his life was certainly provided by The Monk, the actor and writer has used dramatic licence to pepper fact with fiction.
We meet The Monk as played by Ryan just minutes before he is due to appear in the dock to hear whether or not he will be convicted of the murder of David Byrne at The Regency Hotel in 2016. What follows is like a fever dream trip through the life of Hutch, aided and abetted by screens that flash up different aspects of Hutch's life – from CCTV footage of an assasination attempt on The Monk as he dined out in a Lanzarote bar with his wife Trish to headlines about various robberies including the Marino Mart job which Hutch insists he had no hand, act or part in.
Throughout, the face of a young girl – the angel watching over him – appears on the screens questioning what Hutch is saying. We hear about Gerard Hutch's early life in Summerhill, which paints a picture of poverty for his own family and those around him. Rex Ryan as a long-haired Hutch.
There were times, he remembers, where there wasn't food on the table and how his mother looked after her children while his father worked on the docks until his back was broken and found solace at the bottom of a bottle.
He describes the children playing in The Cage who get dealt a rough hand, Hutch among them as small transgressions see him being carted off and institutionalised at a young age before he gives the authorities a reason to see him as a criminal as part of a young gang called the Bugsy Malones. Ryan's telling of 15-year-old Hutch's time in Mountjoy is a poignant one, revealing how a child learned strength from neglect in prison and brutality.
And it is in this vein that we continue, verging into the territory of 'ordinary decent criminal' — at one point there's a very Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels style retelling of how a robbery might be planned down to the second which treads very dubious ground. View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Rex Ryan (@rexryan1989)
But just when you think the play has drifted into the realms of Robin Hood type territory, it turns again with a clever reproduction of the 2008 RTE interview where Paul Reynolds puts Hutch through the ringer, followed by a litany of death and bloodshed being blasted from the screens surrounding the stage while Ryan's Hutch insists he is simply the head of a family who's trying to sort out his nephew's mistake.
Without giving too much away, it's quite an ending as Gerard Hutch is called to court.
And we, of course, know that in real life Hutch was found not guilty. But because this production is a mishmash of fact and fiction, it's sometimes an uncomfortable watch for the wrong reasons. Rex Ryan as Gerry Hutch.
Had Ryan taken Gerard Hutch's story and completely fictionalised it using a different character, without revealing he had based it on The Monk, it would be an excellent play.
But with the actual crime boss looming large in the background, it becomes distracting and disorientating as the audience themselves have to figure out where the two truths lie.
The acting, writing, direction and staging is superb and certainly The Monk by Rex Ryan is thought-provoking but one of those thoughts is whether or not this was a good idea in the first place from a moral perspective. But as Hutch said himself, we'll let the people decide.
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Extra.ie
9 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Inside Ryan Tubridy and Clare Kambamettu's love story
Posting a happy selfie on social media that says 'I'm on holidays' can feel as joyful as turning on your out-of-office email. So it's no wonder that Ryan Tubridy was beaming as he took to Instagram a fortnight ago, against a backdrop of Clifden's rugged seascape, to announce that he was taking a break for a couple of weeks. But what we now know is that it wasn't just general holiday mode that caused Ryan — who presents a weekday talk show on Virgin Radio UK that's simultaneously broadcast on Dublin's Q102 — to break into a smile. This is a man who was putting his annual leave to good use, a man head over heels in love, about to pop the question to his partner of two years, senior clinical psychologist and a former Rose of Tralee winner Dr Clare Kambamettu. We also know now that Clare said yes — although we didn't hear this from the couple themselves; over the weekend, O'Dalaigh Jewellers jewellery store in Galway posted a photo thanking Ryan for choosing their shop to buy her ring. In a now- deleted post, the jewellers shared that Ryan had come to them 'discreetly' looking for a diamond ring for a 'special lady'. Dr Clare Kambamettu and Ryan Tubridy. Pic: RTÉ The release of the news wasn't very well co-ordinated, it seems. Well, the course of true love never does run smooth but no matter — on Tuesday Ryan happily formally confirmed their engagement on his radio show, stating he was 'very, very, very happy to confirm I did get engaged to my partner Clare in the west of Ireland on Thursday evening'. He added: 'It's a very exciting time to be alive. I'm a very, very lucky man, and I think it's one of those beautiful moments where the world feels lighter.' The stars have clearly aligned for Ryan this year as he went on to describe how his happy news was 'just the accumulation of a lot of lovely things happening, and I just decided now is the time.' And while the exact place of where Ryan got down on one knee has not been revealed, we know it was somewhere in the West of Ireland. This part of the country is a place close to his heart – his cousin owns the popular Abbeyglen Castle Hotel in Clifden in Connemara. Ryan Tubridy. Pic: Nick Edwards In fact this was the location of his proposal to his first wife and mother of his two daughters, Anne Marie Power. But amid Ryan's happiness in sharing his engagement, a little disclaimer: 'more to follow in terms of details and all the rest of it. And by the more to follow, I mean I'll tell my family first,' — a warning, perhaps, to any parties who may be involved in planning their upcoming nuptials. For despite Ryan's very public persona, his desire for privacy in his personal life is reflected in loved up pair's relationship, which has been mostly kept under wraps since they got together in 2023. How exactly the love birds met is unknown, but Clare appeared as a guest on his RTE radio show just days before he announced he was stepping down from the Late Late Show and a few months before he effectively became a posterboy for the RTÉ payments scandal (more of that later). Clare Kambamettu and Ryan Tubridy. Pic:Listening back to that radio interview on March 8 2023, it's clear that the chemistry between the pair was sizzling over the airwaves. The topic was the phenomenon of manifesting and Clare, as a clinical psychologist, was opining on whether there was real psychological science behind it. It was an intense, almost 20 minute deep-dive into nature, connection, and tellingly, the matters of the heart. Ryan, who admitted he was already familiar with Clare, as a host may have even been a little tongue-tied, as he interviewed her in person in the studio (there's still a picture of the pair smiling happily together post-chat on the RTE web archive). He stumbled over the pronunciation of her surname and a little like a first date (albeit shared to the country), they got to know a little more about each other. Ryan told Clare how he was fascinated with psychiatry, as it was his father's profession, and simultaneously she revealed some insight into her own family, from growing up on a farm in Athy and even how her Indian-born father, a doctor, met her physiotherapist mother 'at the foot of a bed in Merlin Park hospital in the 70s' and was introduced as Dr Ravishing, which Ryan had a giggle at. Clare Kambamettu and Ryan Tubridy. Pic:for The Irish Post He was clearly wanting to impress his psychologist guest by sharing his latest reading material — psychologist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl's existential masterpiece, Man's Search for Meaning, with both of them agreeing that they found it mind-blowing. Clare spoke of finding perspective when we are suffering — 'a purpose through love and when we are caring for one another' —which would prove to be prescient words given her calming presence in the storm of Ryan's life a few months later. The only small blip in the conversation was when Ryan — prompted by the influx of texts to the show — asked Clare if she had ever been crowned Rose of Tralee. Clare briefly answered that she was and Ryan cheekily asked her had she got over it, to which she replied jokingly (but firmly shutting down the topic) 'just about, still getting over it'. Clare Kambamettu. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Ryan ended the chat with a reluctant 'We could go on — I really enjoyed that conversation,' and this sentiment was shared by Clare with a softly spoken 'Me too.' Days later, he announced he was stepping down from the Late Late Show, and what followed an implosion of Ryan's life, or what he has described as so visceral, it was akin to a 'mugging'. In June 2023, RTÉ announced that between 2017 and 2022 it had paid €345,000 more than had been previously disclosed to the TV and radio presenter, whose pay was already known to be more than that of anyone else at RTÉ — causing a public outcry and backlash against him as the public broadcaster imploded, leading to him losing his lucrative radio gig. Speaking on the Laughs Of Your Life podcast in December 2023, Ryan told Doireann Garrihy that although he was 'trashed' at the time, the scandal was 'arguably the best thing that ever happened' to him, due to his subsequent employment with Virgin Radio in London, and no doubt, the new supportive love of Clare. Tubridy said: 'Blessings come in strange disguises and that's what happened because arguably the best thing that ever happened to me was what happened to me. 'I always wanted to go to London. I always wanted to investigate radio over there and TV but I never did it. I was thinking about it but I was procrastinating. 'I was 'maybe somedaying' my life away until I was mugged – and it was the best mugging a man could get,' he continued. 'Because once the dark clouds dissipated – and they did, they're still dissipating a little bit to be honest – but once they started to make way for decision-making and purposeful planning, everything started to happen.' It's possible he took Clare's advice on manifesting with action and applied it to his own life, because if Ryan was down in the summer of 2023, some mere months later, his life had taken a complete turnaround. While he took a significant drop in salary from his previous six-sum role — his salary at Virgin Radio is reported to be between £50,000 and £80,000 (€57,550 to €92,000) — he is carving out a whole new career in London, a city with notably more opportunities in media, in a move which has seen him swapping his posh pad in Monkstown for a nice little flat near Abbey Road. He's also hosting a successful podcast, The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy, which is sponsored by Eason, and sees him sit down with household names to discuss what books greatly influenced their lives. He is a weekly columnist with the Irish Mail on Sunday where he shares details about his new London life. And in the wings through it all has been Clare. The pair were spotted jogging in Dun Laoghaire and also together in the West of Ireland, where Ryan retreated after he was taken off the airwaves that June. Then they made their first red carpet appearance as a couple at the Irish Post Awards in London in November 2023, where they were pictured partying with singers Una Healy and Imelda May after he presented an award to Nadine Coyle. They've also been pictured at a Rose Of Tralee event with Ryan's ex Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, the couple shook it off at one of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concerts in Dublin in 2024 and Ryan happily cuddled up to his girlfriend at the opening of an alcohol company he has invested in, Muff Liquor, last summer too. Speaking to a publication soon after he made his big move to London, he revealed that Clare — whose Master's degree in Mental Health is from King's College — was also the person who was helping him settle into a new city. 'She's all over this. I don't need Chris Evans to show me around. Yeah, she's got this covered. She's wonderful,' he said, adding that their relationship h was 'one of the more lovely beacons in a sea of doubt'. 'If I can be a master of understatement here, I'll say that the last few months have been intense and I was lucky here and there – and Clare was certainly one of those lucky moments,' he said. And in another interview, when asked if Clare had been a major support amid the RTÉ payments scandal, he replied: 'Remarkably so.' Though he guards his private life, Ryan has had his share of heartbreak. He was married to producer Ann-Marie Power from 2003 until they separated in 2006, having previously told how he first met her in 1997 when he spotted her in a recording studio in RTÉ. 'She was going in to make a programme, I was going out. My head turned and my life changed. I pursued her relentlessly,' he shared. Ryan and Ann-Marie had two daughters together, Ella and Julia, who are now 26 and 19. Ryan clearly has a great relationship with his children, previously describing them as 'the least demanding young women you've ever met — they are beautiful souls'. Ryan went on to date Irish academic Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, another previous Rose of Tralee, following her appearance on his Saturday night chat show, Tubridy Tonight, in March 2009. Ryan reportedly asked her out after the show, in the RTÉ green room. In the week approaching his debut as host of The Late Late Show, he told a publication that Ní Shúilleabháin was a 'great support' and had transformed his life. In 2010 he also referred to Aoibhinn as his 'rock' since the death of friend and colleague Gerry Ryan. Speaking to the RTE Guide about his life off air in September 2008, Ryan was pretty specific about what type of woman he likes — and it's not just former Roses. 'I like intelligence, I like a good conversation. I like elegance, I like a girl who is feminine without being vain… also love a girl who appreciates darkness. I'm a lot darker than people think — plenty of dark humour,' he declared. However, after four years together, Aoibhinn and Ryan went their separate ways, with Aoibhinn marrying husband Carlos Diaz in 2017, and the couple are now parents to three children. Not much is known about Clare's former flames, but we know a little more about the background and professional life of the Leeds-born beauty, who moved to Athy with her family at the age of eight. She was educated at Scoil Mhuire, Athy and University College Galway, before studying in London and was working for the NHS when she entered the Rose of Tralee competition as the London Rose at the age of 26. Both Ryan and Clare have links to London and Galway — Clare returned to NUIG to complete her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and after years of working across the gamut of mental health services, including in adult and forensic mental health and is now a psychologist in the HSE's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. There are many strings to her bow — and in Ryan's field of expertise too, as Clare was also at one time a presenter of RTÉ One's Eco Eye, a programme fronted by Duncan Stewart which brought to light ecological issues and how they are impacting society. And as part of her reign as Rose of Tralee she travelled to India with her mother, Breda, and her father, Ravi, to take part in a documentary about the Voluntary Services Overseas' charity work. In an interview back in April 2011, she enthused about how much she enjoyed her time as a Rose and the opportunities it afforded her, musing that had she not done it, she would never had got the chance to 'shake Obama's hand' or 'meet [Irish president] Mary McAleese'. And now, with Ryan at her side and Clare by his it's likely this power couple can manifest anything and everything together.
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kinahan cartel boss Liam Byrne's son parties with Conor McGregor and Katie Price
Kinahan cartel boss Liam Byrne's son has been pictured partying with Conor McGregor and Katie Price in Ibiza. A photo, posted on social media by Conor McGregor, shows Lee Byrne with close pal and Byrne Organised Crime Group associate Nathan 'Biggie' Little posing next to the troubled UFC fighter. Renowned model Katie Price is also seen in the snap, sitting on the lap of a beaming McGregor. Republic of Ireland and Eredivisie footballer Troy Parrot is also pictured. It comes as McGregor is awaiting his appeal at the start of next month after a jury found him liable for the assault of Nikita Hand in the Beacon Hotel in South Dublin. Lee Byrne, who has no involvement in crime, is the son of criminal Liam Byrne - who was most recently released from prison in the UK after serving a relatively short time behind bars for his role in sourcing firearms for brother-in-law and fellow mob boss Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh. Mobster Liam is lying low in the UK while being tagged by prison authorities - after being granted early release due to ongoing overcrowding concerns. His son Lee, however, is regularly seen partying across the globe with pal 'Biggie' Little - who Dublin's High Court heard was a member of the 'Byrne Organised Crime Group', led by Lee's father. In the High Court, the Criminal Assets Bureau identified the 24-year-old Dubliner as being a low-level member of the Byrne Organised Crime Group. Little, who is from the Drimnagh area of the city, is a close friend of Liam Byrne's son Lee, who is the boyfriend of Steven Gerrard's daughter, Lilly-Ella. Liam Byrne, 44, himself a powerful figure in the Kinahan cartel, was jailed for his role in trying to acquire firearms from anywhere he could find them after he was caught doing so in secret encrypted conversations that were hacked in 2021. The plot was designed so that investigators would find a cache of 11 powerful weapons hidden in a field in Newry, Co Down in May 2021 following a 'tip off' from Kavanagh, who met officers and told them about it from behind bars while awaiting sentence for importing drugs. Liam Byrne's brother David was infamously shot dead in the Regency Hotel shooting on February 5, 2016. Byrne's death significantly escalated the Kinahan Hutch feud - and saw the cartel go on to murder 16 more men. Byrne's boss Daniel Kinahan was the primary target of the Hutch gang that day - and is still living it up in Dubai despite his cartel crumbling all around him. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week Liam Byrne was jailed - alongside the once-powerful mobster 'Bomber' - who led the Kinahan cartel's day-to-day operations in the UK. Kavanagh is serving a 21-year prison sentence for conspiracy to import some €36 million worth of drugs into the UK. In 2019, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) seized much of Liam Byrne's assets following a high-profile case. The CAB, in its High Court proceedings against the Byrne Organised Crime Group (BOCG), named Liam as its leader, and also named several individuals as the beneficiaries of the group. The High Court ruled that assets worth €2.7 million - cars, jewellery, cash and the Raleigh Square home seized by the CAB - were the proceeds of crime. As part of their investigations, CAB investigators claimed Byrne was at the 'very top tier' of organised crime in Ireland. In submissions to the High Court, the CAB outlined his links to Christy 'Dapper Don' Kinahan's cartel. It claimed: 'The target of this investigation is the Liam Byrne Organised Crime Group. This group is aligned to the Kinahan Organised Crime Group (KOCG) and is involved in the importation for sale and supply of controlled drugs into this jurisdiction. 'The investigation has uncovered a system of money laundering used by this group to hide the beneficial ownership of the various assets in their possession. The main target of this investigation, Liam Byrne, is a close and trusted associate and lieutenant of Daniel Kinahan. "The KOCG is an international gang involved in the importation and controlled distribution of drugs into this jurisdiction, the UK and mainland Europe. It has bases in Spain, the UK, Netherlands and Dubai. 'Liam Byrne and Sean McGovern are at the very top tier of this group and are regularly spotted in the company of Daniel and [his brother] Christopher Kinahan.'
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tragedy at Royal Ascot as two-year-old filly dies in opening race
Tragedy struck on the second day of Royal Ascot as a horse died from racing in the opening contest. The Richard Hannon-trained Harry's Girl was put down after sustaining a fatal injury during the Queen Mary Stakes. "Unfortunately, Harry's Girl suffered a fatal injury during The Queen Mary Stakes," a statement from Ascot Racecourse said. "Our thoughts go out to all connections at this time." ITV Racing presenter, Ed Chamberlain, confirmed the sad news during the broadcaster's coverage of the meeting, saying her sad passing 'cast a shadow' over True Love's triumph. He said: "We've just had this confirmed by Ascot - Harry's Girl did suffer a fatal injury. "Our thoughts go out to connections. It's desperately sad for the Hannon team after they celebrated with their winner Haatem yesterday." Harry's Girl, a two-year-old filly, was having only her third start on the racecourse. The daughter of Harry Angel won her debut at Newmarket in April before finishing a close second in a listed contest York last month. The race was won by Aidan O'Brien's True Love, who lost her maiden tag in style. Ridden by Ryan Moore, True Love had chased home Tuesday's Coventry Stakes winner and stablemate Gstaad on her latest start and was duly sent off the 9-4 favourite. True Love took some time to work her way into the race as Zelaina set a scorching early pace, but she stayed on to real effect in the final furlong to beat 100-1 shot Flowerhead, with Patrick Biancone's American raider Lennilu third. It was win number 93 for O'Brien at the big meeting, although rather surprisingly his first in the Queen Mary. He said: 'She's lovely and in her first run Ryan came in and said they won't beat her again and then after her second run Wayne (Lordan) said the same thing, that they won't beat her again, and then you have to consider the two that beat her (Lady Iman and Gstaad) are very good horses. 'Ryan gave her a beautiful ride and Michael (Tabor) has always loved her and always spoken about her. It's great as her mother (Alluringly) is in foal to City Of Troy and her sister is in foal to Wootton Bassett so it's marvellous really. 'She was drawn by herself and there was no pace where she was so she had to go and do her own work and that's what Ryan did, he was excellent on her. She was probably strongest in the last half-furlong and when she got going she really powered away. 'Ryan said he was a little slow to step and a little on the back foot all the time and I think that's why he was trying to stoke her up a bit, but late on she was really strong. 'She had to work really hard and the only place she was going to get company was out in the middle and Ryan did really well to let her go there. She was under the pump a long way out, but so strong at the line and is obviously high class. 'She's like a four-year-old really and Ryan thought she would be better when she steps up to six furlongs and she's a big, mature filly who walks around the ring like a four-year-old, she's so scopey – she's something to look forward to.' On future plans, O'Brien added: 'I think we look forward to going up in trip now, the lads will decide that. You would imagine she would have no problem going six furlongs, but she is No Nay Never and he's a big speed influence always. 'The Queen Mary winner seems to always head to Deauville (Prix Morny) or the Curragh (Airlie Stud Stakes) and that would be the two races really or there is the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket in July. That may come too soon, but we will see how she is.'
