Dubliner Paul Ward has had a 12-year jail term, imposed for his part in the 1997 Mountjoy prison riots, reduced by two years. With standard remission for good behaviour Ward could be free within two years.
Ward, who had his conviction for the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin overturned in March, appealed his sentence for the riots in the Court of Criminal Appeal today.
He received the 12-year sentence in 1999 for taking part in the riots in Dublin's Mountjoy prison between January 4th and January 6th, 1997.
During the riots, five prison officers were taken hostage by six prisoners, including Ward, after an attempt to mount a rooftop protest failed.