Temporary prison release for Macarthur for Christmas unlikely

Convicted murderer Malcolm Macarthur is unlikely to be granted a temporary release for Christmas, according to informed sources.

Macarthur, who has spent more than 20 years in prison for the murder of nurse Bridie Gargan in Dublin's Phoenix Park in 1982, has applied for temporary release.

While the Department of Justice has yet to make a decision on the temporary release of prisoners for this Christmas, it is considered unlikely that Macarthur will qualify.

Last April, he was offered a transfer to an open prison following the acceptance by the Minister of State for Justice, Mr Willie O'Dea, of a Parole Board recommendation. This move usually precedes the eventual release of long-serving prisoners.

However, while he moved from Mountjoy prison to a more liberal Shelton Abbey in Co Wicklow, he was not placed on a pre-release programme. Mr O'Dea is due to review Macarthur's case next April, at which stage his eligibility for pre-release and temporary release over Christmas is likely to be considered.

While the Minister for Justice normally acts on Parole Board recommendations, the current Minister, Mr McDowell, was junior counsel in Macarthur's defence team at the time. He therefore asked Mr O'Dea to make the decision in the case.

A spokesman for the Department last night declined to comment on individual cases, but said an application for temporary release did not mean that prisoner would qualify for release.

Macarthur was arrested in the home of the then Attorney General, Mr Patrick Connolly, in 1983, and charged with the murders of Ms Gargan and an Offaly farmer, Mr Donal Dunne. The DPP decided not to go ahead with the prosecution on the Dunne murder when Macarthur pleaded guilty to the murder of the nurse.

The Dunne family spoke out against the move to an open prison. They said they believed Macarthur still posed a threat to society.