The court heard that a Garda Superintendent had stated in a Book of Evidence in 1999 that he believed one of the men, Michael O'Neill, was a member of the IRA.
Both men had been charged with membership of the IRA during their original trials but the charges had been withdrawn.
Michael O'Neill was sentenced to eleven years in jail for manslaughter, the malicious wounding of Detective Garda Ben O'Sullivan and possession of firearms at Adare in June 1996.
John Quinn was sentenced to six years for conspiracy to commit a robbery.
It is the case of the Minister for Justice and the Government that the men do not fall within the ambit of the Agreement, which allowed for a two-year period for the release of prisoners from July 1998.
To date, 57 prisoners in the Republic and 444 in Northern Ireland have been released under the Agreement.
