Two men jailed in connection with the robbery at Adare in Co Limerick in 1996 in which Det Garda Jerry McCabe was killed have lost their Supreme Court bid to be released.
The Supreme Court turned down an appeal by Michael O'Neill and John Quinn both of whom are detained at Castlerea Prison.
They had appealed against the High Court refusal of their application for early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
The Chief Justice said the Government had decided that the release of prisoners provisions in the Good Friday Agreement would not be operated in the case of those convicted in connection with the killing of Det Garda McCabe.
O'Neill is serving 11 years for the manslaughter of Det McCabe while Quinn is serving a six-year sentence for conspiracy to commit a robbery.
