'A repeat of the Regency': Tyson Fury Irish speaking events canceled amid gang-related death threats

Tyson Fury has canceled speaking engagements in Ireland after threats were received that the event would be a 'repeat of the Regency', referring to a shooting at a boxing weigh-in three years ago which sparked a vicious gang feud.

Fury's planned appearances at Dublin's The Helix and the Cork Opera House have been shelved after the Dublin venue received a specific threat related to the shooting at the Regency Hotel exactly three years ago in which one man was shot to death. Two others received non-fatal wounds. The two Irish events, scheduled for the 12th and 13th of February, have been canceled as a result, it was announced on Tuesday.

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It is understood that The Helix received at least one threatening call to its box office, while graffiti was plastered on the wall outside the venue making similar threats - at least one of which referenced the deadly Regency shooting in February 2016.

The graffiti, which has since been removed, referenced Fury's controversial management group MTK Global which announced in recent days that it was ending its boycott of the Irish media, which was instituted for what they perceived to be unfair coverage of their fighters and the group's history.

Daniel Kinahan, a suspected mobster and son of Kinahan Gang patriarch Christy, was heavily involved in the genesis of MTK Global but the two parties have since severed ties. The group represents more than 30 Irish fighters, as well as UFC star Darren Till.

The Regency Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. © AFP / CAROLINE QUINN

A statement from the Helix said, "Due to unforeseen circumstances An Evening with Tyson Fury on Wednesday the 13th February at The Helix has been cancelled."

Cork Opera House announced that their event would be canceled soon after.

The timing of the threats is concerning to Irish police, given the anniversary of the Regency Hotel shooting which sparked a gang feud in the Irish capital which has continued to this day and has led to up to 20 deaths.

David Byrne, a suspected associate of the Christy Kinahan drug cartel, was shot to death during the public weigh-in for a WBO lightweight European title between Ireland's Jamie Kavanagh and Antonio Joao Bento, after four masked men stormed the venue. Daniel Kinahan was thought to be a target of the shooting but he had left the event before the gunmen arrived.

The murder of Byrne was thought to be retaliation for the killing of Gary Hutch, an associate of a rival criminal gang, the previous September. The resulting gang warfare has claimed numerous lives, the most recent of which was a deadly shooting on December 22 last year.