Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish consulate in Boston contact ed Mary and Michael Clarke after the distraught couple made a heartfelt plea for diplomatic help for their son Niall on RT�?'sSix One news on Friday.

"Dave Barry from the Irish consulate in Boston and the secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Dermot Gallagher, have both been in contact with us and our solicitor, " Michael Clarke told the Sunday Tribune last night. "It is reassuring that they are giving us their full support. Our solicitor is coming back from the US today after visiting Niall and we are trying to get him a full psychological assessment before his sentencing hearing goes ahead."

Niall (26) is awaiting trial in Cumberland county jail in Maine after pleading guilty to charges of armed robbery after a high-profile arrest minutes after he burst into a Bank of America branch with a gun in Bangor, Maine last October.

His parents believe that he is suffering from mental illness and want their son to receive proper medical treatment within the federal prison system.