IRA prisoners in jail switch

Three IRA prisoners were yesterday switched from British to Irish jails. They were named by the Irish Justice Department as Michael O'Brien, Derek Doherty and Paraic Mac Fhloinn.

In the top-security move, under the terms of the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the men were taken to Portlaoise Prison, 50 miles from Dublin. In Britain, they had been serving sentences of between 18 and 35 years for terrorist crimes, including attempted murder and explosives offences.

The development brought to five the number of IRA prisoners transferred from Britain to Ireland since the Dublin government ratified the European Convention just over a year ago.