Fresh calls for Castlerea release

In light of the release last month of John Quinn - one of the Castlerea Five prisoners convicted in relation to events in Adare in Co Limerick in which Garda Dectective Jerry Mc Cabe was killed in 1996 - campaigners have called on the Dublin government to live up to its responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and release the remaining four political hostages.

"For reasons of political expediency and cowardice, the Dublin government is continuing to propagate the lie that these prisoners do not qualify under the terms of the Agreement," said Castlerea Five Support Group chair, Jay McCauley.

"The facts are quite straightforward, The Agreement covers all political prisoners imprisoned for incidents that occurred before 10 April 1998, and regardless of the jurisdiction they were or are jailed in.

"The Dublin government has displayed glaring double standards on this issue. While it continues to detain the Castlerea prisoners as political hostages for domestic reasons its supposed role as a guarantor of the Agreement can hold little credibility."