Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch has been charged with murder at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

The 58-year-old was handed over to Gardaí in Madrid this afternoon and was flown back to Ireland in an Air Corps plane.

He touched down at Baldonnel this evening before being brought to the Special Criminal Court where he was charged with the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016.

He reserved his position in relation to the charges and was remanded in Garda custody.

A further hearing has been set for October 15th, while the date for a full trial was fixed for October 3rd, 2022.

Extradition

It comes after the Spanish High Court rejected his second appeal against his extradition.

The Audiencia Nacional Court in Madrid approved the extradition; however, it attached a condition stipulating that, if he is convicted, he should be returned to Spain to serve his sentence there.

Crime journalist Nicola Tallant told Newstalk the court rejected his appeal weeks ago; however, the decision was only published this week after a plan for transporting him home to Ireland had been arranged.

“It was announced when they had arrangements in place with the Irish authorities to hand him over and get him safely back here on to Irish soil and safely into prison,” she said.

“He is still a target, and he would be a very high-profile prisoner to be bringing home.”

Arrest

Hutch was arrested on foot of a European Arrest Warrant in the Fuengirola area of Spain last month.

He is wanted by Gardaí investigating the murder of David Byrne at the Dublin hotel in February 2016.

The attack saw a group of men - dressed as armed Gardaí – entering the hotel and opening fire at a boxing weigh-in.

David Byrne was shot dead and two other men were injured.

With reporting from Eoghan Murphy