Wrong prisoner brought to court for the fourth time

A Circuit Court judge has ordered that two prisoners with the same name be brought to court to ascertain their identities after it was alleged the pair have been swapping profiles to confuse the Prison Service.

One of the men was due to appear before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday, but a different prisoner with the same name was produced instead.

This is the fourth time the wrong prisoner has been brought to court in cases involving the two men.

The men cannot be named for legal reasons.

"It beggars belief," Judge Melanie Greally said, when she was informed the wrong prisoner had once again been produced.

She asked that a representative of Cloverhill Prison come to court to explain the matter.

A Prison Service representative appeared shortly afterwards and told the judge that there were two prisoners with the same name currently residing in Cloverhill Prison.

One of the men has a date of birth in December 1976, while the other has a date of birth in March 1971.

“It’s alleged they have been swapping charge sheets to confuse the Prison Service,” the prison officer said.

Charge sheet

The charge sheet before the court on Tuesday was for one count of attempted robbery at a Dublin city centre hotel in 2014.

The judge ordered that both men with the same name be brought to court from Cloverhill Prison on Wednesday.

She said the legal team for the man who was due to appear in court should then go to the cells and meet both prisoners to identify who was the correct one.

The matter was adjourned to Wednesday.