A prison inmate has withdrawn a High Court action in which he claimed he was injured in an accident when he was a passenger on a motorbike driven by someone he claimed he did not know.

The withdrawal of the case was welcomed by Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds on Thursday after she earlier raised strong concerns about the continuation of 31-year-old Paul Brannigan's claim.

Finglas-native Brannigan has previously been described as the right-hand man of notorious drug dealer Mr Flashy.

Such were the court’s concerns about the evidence being advanced by Mr Brannigan that, had the hearing progressed, the case may have had to be “referred elsewhere”, she said.

The judge said that as well as valuable court time being expended to hear the case, taxpayers’ money had also been spent bringing the plaintiff to court from Mountjoy Prison. The case started on Wednesday morning.

Mr Brannigan, formerly of Balrath, Co Meath, and Ratoath Drive, Finglas in Dublin, sought damages over injuries he sustained when the motorcycle he claimed he was a pillion passenger on, was in a collision with a car.

He claimed he was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and his injuries included a compound fracture of his left upper arm, head injuries, and a ruptured spleen which required emergency surgery to treat.

The accident happened on December 9, 2013, at Broombridge Road, Cabra, Dublin. He had claimed he did not know and could not remember the identity of the driver of the motorcycle at the time of the accident.

Mr Brannigan claimed he was knocked unconscious following the alleged collision, resulting in his memory of the accident and the identity of the motorcycle drivers being substantially impaired.

He sued the driver of the car and the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) as the motorcycle driver could not be traced. The MIBI compensates victims of untraced and uninsured driving.

The MIBI and the car driver denied the accident happened as alleged. The MIBI said Mr Brannigan had been the driver of the motorcycle and had consciously refused and declined to identify the driver of the motorcycle.

He had also refused to fully cooperate with the gardai in relation to the accident, it was claimed.

The owner of the motorcycle was also sued but he did not participate in the case and the court struck out the claim against him.

The case began on Wednesday and on Thursday afternoon Mr Brannigan's counsel Richard McDonnell SC, told the judge that the case had been “resolved” and that his client was withdrawing his claim.

It was further agreed that an order for costs could be made in favour of the MIBI and the car driver.

In 2018, Brannigan was jailed for the assault of Jason Saunders at Fassaugh Avenue, Cabra on March 18, 2014. Mr Saunders was 21 when he died yards from his home after the altercation.

He was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison. At the time of his sentencing, he had already served some 22 months.

Brannigan had denied manslaughter and two charges of assault causing harm to Mr Saunders.

After a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court a jury convicted him of one charge of assault relating to Brannigan striking the victim with a golf club.

He is serving his current prison sentence in respect of convictions for other offences.