Quinn Jr was jailed back in July of this year after the High Court found him guilty of "outrageous contempt" for failing to take steps to reverse alleged asset-stripping moves intended to put funds and international property beyond the reach of IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank.

Sean Quinn Sr and his nephew Peter Darragh Quinn were also convicted of contempt before the High Court, but while Quinn Sr was not given a jail sentence, Peter Darragh did not turn up in court for sentencing and is currently evading arrest in County Fermanagh.

Before a panel of five judges in the Supreme Court earlier this month, Sean Quinn Jr's legal team contended that the High Court had failed to set out any evidential basis for the finding of contempt, and that Quinn Jr's imprisonment was therefore wrong.

Lawyers for IBRC told the appeal hearing however there could be no doubt about the decision to jail him in light of new evidence brought to the Supreme Court, including "deliberate and repeated" attempts to interfere with the administration of justice and to defraud the bank.

Senior counsel for IBRC Paul Gallagher said the High Court was entitled to make the finding of contempt based on circumstantial evidence.

At the height of the Quinn family's success, Sean Quinn Sr and his family were considered the among the richest in Ireland, controlling businesses from insurance and hotels to manufacturing, worth billions of euro and employing thousands of people.