JOE Byrne, who surrendered to federal marshals in White Plains, Westchester County on Tuesday, February 26 in relation to an extradition request from the Irish government, was escorted back to Ireland on Thursday, February 28, arriving on Friday morning.Byrne, 40, was extradited back to Ireland to face charges of robbery and burglary, a crime that was committed in Co. Louth in 1997. The husband of American Eileen and father of five-year old Mairead arrived in Dundalk, Co. Louth, his hometown, on Friday, where he was escorted directly to a Dundalk courthouse. He was put under house arrest until, Wednesday, March 5 when he will return to court for a bail hearing.Before coming to the U.S. in 1998, Byrne, whose father is a retired police sergeant in Dundalk, was questioned by Louth Gardai (police) in connection to a robbery and burglary that took place in March 1997 in Ready Penny Inn on the Ardee Road in Dundalk. There were 8,200 Irish punts stolen from the pub while the 18-year-old daughter of the proprietor was tied up. Byrne, a suspect, was held for 48 hours in which time he was questioned and subsequently released without being charged. He came to the U.S. shortly after the incident.In July 2006 U.S. federal marshals arrested Byrne after Ireland sought his extradition. Byrne, who has a green card, was taken away by the officers and held in Valhalla Federal Prison in Westchester County for six weeks before being released on $350,000 bail.Since then, Byrne and family have done everything in their power to prevent him from being extradited. They went to court to fight his extradition but in November a judge ruled in favor of the Irish governments request.Byrne, who is a resident of Pearl River, New York, has had strong support from Congressman Eliot Engel on this case. Engel has made contact with the American ambassador's office in Ireland and has asked them to monitor Byrne's case closely.