Man found guilty of attempted murder in Dundalk pub has extradition objection dismissed
An IRA terrorist who murdered a man in Northern Ireland and fired a shot-gun into the face of another man in the Republic is being considered for parole in this jurisdiction while authorities in Northern Ireland want him to be extradited to serve a life sentence, the High Court has heard.
Robert Duffy (50) was convicted in 1996 of the murder of John Gibson in Belfast in October 1993 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He was released after just four years under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in July 2000.
On March 10, 2007, he attempted to murder Colin O'Neill at the Emerald Bar in Dundalk by firing a shotgun into Mr O'Neill's face at point-blank range. He was sentenced to life imprisonment having pleaded guilty to that offence.
It has emerged recently that Duffy is being considered for parole, prompting the Northern Irish authorities to seek to have Duffy extradited so he can be returned to prison for breaching the terms of his release by attempting to murder Mr O'Neill. Among the terms of his release under the GFA was that he must not be a danger to the public.
Ms Justice Caroline Biggs at High Court hearings relating to Duffy's extradition has heard that Duffy has engaged with the parole board while in prison and is being considered for temporary release.
She said a report from 2021 states that he has engaged well with probation services, is a trusted prisoner, is considered at a "moderate to low risk of reoffending" and no longer affiliates with any paramilitary organisation.
He was being held at the low security Shelton Abbey prison but is now on remand in Wheatfield as a result of the extradition proceedings.
Ms Justice Biggs yesterday (MON) dismissed objections to Duffy's extradition to Northern Ireland but said she would not order his extradition at this time.
She added that if the parole board decides to release Duffy, he will be entitled to bail with regard to the High Court extradition proceedings.
Ms Justice Biggs said she doesn't want the extradition proceedings before her to be a bar to Duffy being released by the parole board. Ms Justice Biggs said that the parole board is expected to make a decision on Duffy's release this month or next.
If Duffy is released by the parole board, Ms Justice Biggs said the Minister for Justice should be ready to apply to the High Court to have Duffy extradited to Northern Ireland.
She noted that the Northern Irish authorities have given assurances that Duffy will be free to apply for release to the Sentence Review Commission once he has been returned to prison in Northern Ireland.
Duffy had objected to his extradition to Northern Ireland but Ms Justice Biggs dismissed all grounds of objection.