Andrew Carey
THE son of murdered Limerick gangster Eddie Ryan has launched a High Court application to secure his release from prison on a firearms offence.
31-year-old Edward Ryan Junior of College Avenue, Moyross, Limerick, was given a six-year sentence in July 2010 after pleading guilty to possession of a Browning semi-automatic pistol and 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. It was his first court conviction.
The weapon and ammunition were seized when Gardaí stopped and searched a car at Ballyneety on the outskirts of Limerick city in May 2010 following a surveillance operation.
His brother, Kieran ‘Rashers’ Ryan, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the same offence.
They are the sons of gangland figure 41-year-old Eddie Ryan Senior who was shot dead in the Moose Bar in Limerick city in November 2000.
Aside from their family background, the two brothers made national headlines when they were allegedly bundled into a van and kidnapped at gunpoint. They turned up a week later unharmed after an extensive search by Gardaí and the army.
Under the 2007 Prison rules, Eddie Ryan Junior has claimed to the High Court that he is entitled to be released with a third of his sentence left to serve.
This, his lawyers say, is due to his good behaviour and the fact that he has availed of all structured activities and courses available to him in the prison.
After completing a woodworking course at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, he made items for a local charity shop.
Last April, the Department of Justice refused his application to be released with one third of his sentence left to serve.
His lawyers saw that no reasons were given for the refusal and it has not been explained what he has to do to get one third of his sentence off.
If his application to the High Court is successful, he would have been due for release last May. As it stands, he is due to be released in November.
The matter was adjourned to a date in early July to allow the State time to respond to the claim.
