Man tortured by Dowdall says State should have seized former councillor’s home

The man who was tortured by Jonathan Dowdall says the State should have seized his home — and given him some of the proceeds.

Alexander Hurley, 37, was subjected to horrific torture at the hands of the former Sinn Fein councillor and his father, who waterboarded him in the garage of his home on the Navan Road in Dublin on January 15, 2015. Last week it emerged Dowdall, serving a four-year sentence in prison for his role in facilitating the murder of Kinahan cartel associate David Byrne, has put the four-bedroom house on the market for €795,000.

Mr Hurley told how his life has been hell ever since he was tortured by Dowdall in that very home. He said: “I think it’s going to be very, very hard to sell it. Regardless of who buys it, it will always have that stigma attached to it, that it was the scene of a very violent crime. The only way that would ever be properly disposed is if you razed it to the ground.

Read more: Inside the €795k Dublin home of failed state witness Jonathan Dowdall

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“I think he shouldn’t be allowed to sell it. It should be seized and a portion of the value should go to the courts.”

Asked if he felt the State should gift him some of the proceeds of Dowdall’s home, Mr Hurley said: “Absolutely. But I know that’s not going to happen.”

Pictures and video of the interior of Dowdall’s home, including of the garage he tortured My Hurley in, are now available to view online.

A court heard Dowdall and his father Patrick invited Mr Hurley to their home for dinner in January 2015 after trying to sell him a motorbike on DoneDeal — but then wrongly accused him of trying to defraud them.

Mr Hurley said: “He’s being allowed to sell a family home where ironically it was also the platform for carrying out his criminal acts. To allow this individual to profiteer from this… it’s barbaric.”

The pair lured Alexander into the garage, backed him into a swivel chair and subjected him to waterboarding — and threatened to take his life.

Mr Hurley told us: “It [the sale] brought back everything to me.

“The other thing as well is that it’s very clear that this individual has done such grave acts and yet now it would appear that he’s not only getting supported but rewarded in a way, you know?

“He’s being allowed to sell a family home where ironically it was also the platform for carrying out his criminal acts.

“To allow this individual to profiteer from this.. it’s barbaric.”

Mr Hurley added he once considered trying to seek damages from Dowdall via a legal case.

“He has shown no remorse to this day,” he said. “I tried solicitors in the past to try and recover some sort of redress and they won’t even touch him because of who he is.”

He also said he’s been unable to move on from the incident and even get into any kind of relationship because of it.

“I’ve had employment opportunities turned down because of this, and because they obviously think there’s more to it and there isn’t,” he said. “My life has been destroyed. I’m 37 and I can’t actually have a relationship with anybody. It’s been extremely hard.”

Dowdall, currently in Limerick Prison, will potentially be released in the first half of next year. He had applied for witness protection but the exact status of this remains unclear.

And Mr Hurley said: “There is always concern — at the end of the day I don’t know where he’s going to go or what he’s going to do. Should he be released? No. I think the community is safer where he is.”

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