Mary Lou McDonald denies reputation damaged over Jonathan Dowdall’s crime links

There has been widespread coverage of Dowdall and his role in the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in recent weeks.

Dowdall was jailed for four years in October after he pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of Mr Byrne.

Ms McDonald said Dowdall's association to Sinn Fein had not been a setback for the party.

Dowdall is testifying against Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch who is facing a murder charge at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

On Wednesday, Dowdall expressed regret over his "unfair" comments about Ms McDonald. Last month, the court heard a claim by Dowdall during a conversation with Hutch that Ms McDonald had used the Hutch family for money and votes.

Ms McDonald has distanced herself from Dowdall, previously stating that she was "profoundly shocked" to learn of his role in gangland crime.

Last month, the Dublin TD said that had she known about Dowdall's involvement in criminality, he would not have been "anywhere near" the party.

Dowdall was jailed in 2017 for falsely imprisoning and waterboarding a man who went to his home to buy a motorbike.

It recently emerged that Dowdall had donated money to the party, including €1,000 to Ms McDonald. He won a council seat with the party in Dublin in 2014.

Asked whether her name being raised in a gangland murder trial had damaged her image, Ms McDonald said: "Well, I mean, my image is of the leader of the opposition here. First woman ever to lead the opposition in the history of the state, a leader of the party that's now the biggest party across the island as a whole.

"As a person who believes in knuckling down and getting the hard work done."

Ms McDonald said she did not believe the attention on her party and its links to Dowdall had been a "setback".

"I think in the bigger scheme of things, I think it is a very positive development when the gardai and others bring matters like these to the courts, they are matters for the courts to adjudicate," she added.