Six dissident Republicans released from prison

Six dissident Republicans who were serving lengthy prison sentences for bombing offences in Britain have been released from Portlaoise Prison, the High Court has been informed.

The six are brothers Aiden, 37, and Robert, 34, Hulme; Darren Mulholland, 34; James McCormack, 47; Anthony Hyland, 41; and Liam Grogan, 36, who claimed they were entitled to immediate release due to significant differences between the sentencing systems in Ireland and Britain contained in a recent Supreme Court judgment.

The six were convicted and jailed for 20 years or more by the British courts in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were transferred back to Ireland to serve out the remainder of their sentences. They were not entitled to early release under the Good Friday Agreement due to their to links to dissident republicanism. They had release dates varying from September of this year to early 2016.