Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch was granted a video call with family on the day of his 60th birthday, we have learned.
Hutch, who is set to learn his fate when the verdict in his trial for the murder of David Byrne is delivered next Monday, celebrated his landmark birthday on Tuesday - but there was no fanfare.
Sources say no red carpet was rolled out for 'The Monk' on his special day - and he had no visitors at Wheatfield Prison on Tuesday.
READ MORE - Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch verdict just days away as we look back on Ireland's Trial of the Century
However Hutch was granted a lengthy video call with his family as he continues to be imprisoned on remand on a restricted landing in the Dublin-based prison.
It is understood that Hutch is housed on a small landing with approximately 10-15 other prisoners - and is confined mostly to his cell.
As The Irish Mirror previously revealed, the best he could hope for was a Swiss Roll from the prison tuck shop - as birthday cakes aren’t allowed.
Sources say Hutch did, however, receive a visit from a family member on Wednesday - as he hopes to plan his life out of prison should he be found not guilty next week.
Ms Justice Tara Burns, Judges Grainne Malone and Sarah Berkeley will deliver their judgement at around 11am in Dublin’s Special Criminal Court next Monday.
It comes after Hutch’s Defence Counsel Brendan Grehan SC stated in his closing arguments to the court that there is "no evidence" that his client carried out the murder at Dublin’s Regency Hotel on February 5, 2016.
He also later compared State witness Jonathan Dowdall, who he called a "liar" and a "perjurer" to Bart Simpson in that he kept saying things to the effect of "I didn’t do it, nobody saw me do it, you can’t prove anything."
However in her own closing speech, Prosecuting Counsel Fiona Murphy SC argued that Hutch was "one of the two" gunmen that personally shot Byrne (34) and that the evidence in the case shows his guilt "beyond all reasonable doubt."
Ms Murphy said in her hour-long speech that portions of a secretly-recorded 10-hour conversation between Hutch and Jonathan Dowdall on March 7, 2016 "clearly" shows an "admission" from the accused, and that he was "in control" of the situation and was the "man in charge" when the firearms that were subsequently moved up north.
However later in the day Brendan Grehan SC defending Hutch said he would "challenge anyone to find any unambiguous admission" in any of the audio.
He argued that the court must listen to the entire audio "in the round" rather than pick out "isolated" sentences to try and prove Mr Hutch’s guilt.
The audio was played before the court and was of a conversation that members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit secretly recorded at a time when Hutch and now-turned State witness Jonathan Dowdall were travelling to the north to meet Republicans.
Ms Murphy SC said the audio shows that Hutch was the one giving the AK-47 rifles used in the Regency attack to individuals up north as a "present" and stated it is clear from it that they were "the gift of Gerry Hutch’s to give."
She also pointed to the fact that Hutch is saying these things at a time that is "so proximate with the Regency shooting."
However in his closing speech Mr Grehan said the court must "have clear evidence in the sense of addressing the charge that is before the court."
He said that while his client was not conceding this - that if the pair are discussing the weapons on the audio, that it has nothing to do with the charge Mr Hutch is accused of.
"News flash, Mr Hutch is not charged with any firearms offence," he said.
Later he again stated that while he makes "no concessions" "there are arguably" things discussed on the tapes with Dowdall "which could suggest serious criminality on the part of Gerard Hutch."
However he said Hutch "hasn’t been charged with any" of the "conspiracies to any of the various acts suggested" on the audio he said.
He said Hutch is charged with the singular charge of murder - and argued that there is nothing in the audio to suggest he is guilty of this offence.
Ms Murphy earlier said in her speech that Mr Hutch was talking about the movement of the weapons at a crucial time in which they ultimately ended up in transit and seized by gardai from IRA man Shane Rowan just two days later.
She also said that in several mentions of the Regency on the audio there is "no denial or pushback" from Gerry Hutch against implications that he was "centrally involved" in the attack.
Towards the end of her speech Ms Murphy referenced a part of the audio where Hutch spoke about an imagined scenario in which he said he would hold up a building and "give it" five minutes.
Ms Murphy said that is "exactly" what Hutch did on 5 February 2016, saying he held up a building, gave it and he’s "now arranging for the onward transport of the items he used."
She then finalised her speech that this all shows "beyond all reasonable doubt that he was one of the three men dressed in tactical gear" that carried out the attack and "that he should be convicted of the offence of murder."
Ms Murphy further referenced a part in the audio where Hutch told Dowdall that it should not be said "who done what," and to a part were Dowdall told said to him "you never admitted to them that was anything to do with yous."
Hutch responds to this statement by saying "Yeah, he knows yeah", which Ms Murphy said was "clearly an admission" by the accused.
In his own submissions, Mr Grehan said Ms Murphy was trying to argue that Gerry Hutch was one of the tactical gunmen who entered the Regency Hotel and asked: "Where does she get that from I ask?"
He says the prosecution can only get this from Jonathan Dowdall - who while they had wanted to "in many ways play down" his evidence, "ultimately they come back to it."
He said the prosecution’s case "stands or falls" on whether Jonathan Dowdall is to be believed.
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