Gibbons released from prison
By Ray Managh
Convicted murderer Michael Gibbons was released from prison by the High Court today. A temporary release on licence from his life sentence had been revoked last month after he had got into trouble.
Gibbons, 63, was 12 years ago conditionally released from a life sentence for the murder in January 1982 of a security guard at Clerys on O’Connell Street, Dublin. But Ms Justice Maureen Clarke was told this afternoon that the State was claiming he had been unlawfully at large for almost 10 years.
Gibbons, of Oranmore Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was part of a three-man armed raid on security staff returning to the store with the firm’s €52,000 payroll. Security man Gerard Crowley (59) was shot dead and a colleague was wounded after security staff and a garda gave chase, believing the raiders were firing blanks.
Remy Farrell, S.C., had applied on Gibbons’s behalf for his release under Article 40 of the Constitution on the basis he had been unlawfully been detained by the Governor of Mountjoy Prison after serving a two months sentence there.
Mr Farrell, who appeared with James Dwyer, told the court that Mr Gibbons had been convicted in the District Court earlier this year for threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.
He had been sentenced to two months imprisonment for breach of a community service order, after work managers dismissed him from a scheme for being negative, non co-operative, disruptive and unmanageable.
After serving the two months sentence Mr Gibbons found that instead of being released he was detained on foot of the life sentence from which he had claimed he been temporarily released in 2003.
Mr Farrell said the State had initially denied having failed to apply appropriate procedures before Mr Gibbons’s re-imprisonment on the life sentence and was yesterday claiming, during negotiations, that he in fact had unlawfully been at large since 2003.
Ms Elva Duffy, counsel for the prison and probation services, said Mr Gibbons had failed to return to prison from a temporary release in 2003 and had been legally detained last month after serving the two months sentence.
She told Judge Clarke that Mr Gibbons could be released for a 48 hour period which would roll over if he turned up for psychological assessment and signed on daily with the gardai at Ballyfermot.
Ms Duffy said that while the authorities agreed to Mr Gibbons’s conditional release there was no acceptance of illegality regarding his latest detention. The application was struck out with liberty to Mr Farrell to re-enter the proceedings.
Copyright Ray Managh.
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