Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Wayne O'Donoghue was released from the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise early yesterday morning; no prisoner release this year will have been so keenly awaited and so much reported on. He was met by his father and his solicitor and read a prepared statement to the waiting media. In the statement Mr O'Donoghue, first and foremost, apologised to the Holohan family for taking the life of their beloved son, Robert, in January 2005.

Mr O'Donoghue served three years of a four-year sentence, having qualified for 25 per cent remission. The length of the sentence handed down by Mr Justice Carney caused some disquiet and the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal arguing that the sentence was unduly lenient. The court determined that the sentence was appropriate.