The former leader of the INLA and so-called Border Fox, Dessie O'Hare, was released from prison on temporary release on Wednesday night.
O'Hare will return to Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon, after his period of release ends on Sunday. It is his first unsupervised period of release, a strong indication that he is being prepared to be set free permanently.
O'Hare is in his 17th year of a 40-year sentence, handed down in 1988 for the kidnapping of Dublin dentist Mr John O'Grady. He was transferred from Portlaoise Prison to Castlerea two years ago.
He is housed in an area of the prison called the Grove. This is a small development of seven houses inside the prison walls, but separate from the main building.
In a letter to the Governor of Portlaoise Prison announcing O'Hare's transfer to Castlerea in late 2002, a Department of Justice official said that "an appropriate programme designed to assess [O'Hare's] suitability and readiness for release should be put in place from next July [2003]". The decision to release him rests with the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
O'Hare was granted a short period of strictly supervised temporary release last November. On that occasion he attended the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation, Co Wicklow, and was driven to and from the centre by prison staff. However, he was allowed to spend time with his wife.
It was his first period of temporary release from prison.
Public reaction on that occasion was so strong that Mr McDowell publicly denied media reports that O'Hare would be freed before the end of last year. The latest development suggests that the Irish Prison Service has begun to devise the closing stages of O'Hare's sentence.
However, it may be some time before the Parole Board reviews the case again and a speedy full release from prison is unlikely.
