Mountjoy Prison

Mountjoy Prison (), founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.

The current prison governor is Mr. Edward Whelan.

Physical Accommodation

Mountjoy prison is constructed along a radial design with four main wings (A to D) each of which have three landings which are connected to a central circle. When originally built in 1850 it had 500 cells each of which was designed for single capacity. Many parts of the original building have either been renovated or destroyed.

Main Unit

At the time of the 2009 inspection, there were 371 cells in the main unit of the prison. These are the original cells which were built in 1850 for single occupancy. Their size varies from 3.91m x 2.06m to 3.43m x 2.06m. Additionally there are five cells which can accommodate four people each. None of the 367 cells in this block have in-cell sanitation.

The prison was built with in-cell sanitation but this was removed in 1939 at the instigation of a civil servant who deemed that 'prisoners were using too much water'. Inmates have to slop out using chamber pots.

Medical Unit

The medical unit, otherwise referred to as the drug detoxification unit, is a three storied structure. It provides accommodation for sixty prisoners in forty-eight single person cells and three cells that can...
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