Prisoner mistakenly released recaptured

A prisoner who was released from Mountjoy Prison in error is back behind bars after being recaptured.

Mark Kenny (35) was found by gardaí in a house in Cherry Orchard on Saturday evening not far from his home address in Croftwood Crescent, Ballyfermot.

He was captured following a tip-off to gardaí.

A Garda spokeswoman said there was a small altercation but officers managed to restrain the prisoner before returning him to Mountjoy.

Disciplinary action is now being taken against a number of prison officers following an investigation by the Irish Prison Service.

However, the service has declined to say what action is being taken against the officers involved.

Kenny's release on June 20th this year was a major embarrassment to the prison authorities.

The mistake was discovered 20 minutes after Kenny was released, but it was too late for prison officials. Kenny is believed to have fled to Spain where he sent postcards to fellow inmates.

He was mistaken for a prisoner with the same name, and of similar appearance who had comparable scars and who had the same tattoo, with the letters E and R, on it. Kenny had only served three months of a six year sentence for a string of armed robberies and thefts.

He was originally jailed for three years in June 2002 for robbing three service stations in an hour and stabbing a woman twice in the hand with a syringe.

He was later released but was given a four-year sentence by last July for five robberies and a theft. This March he received a further three-year sentence with a year suspended. He was not due to be released until 2010.

The other Mark Kenny was serving a minor sentence of three months for driving without tax or insurance.