Mountjoy prison is an old crumbling place, built in 1850 and similar to Pentonville prison in London. It has very few modern amenities and is a harsh environment. The Dochas centre which is for the women inmates was built in 1999. It is a modern, built in separate houses with individual rooms and en suite showers and toilets. It is in marked contrast to the male prison.

When a man arrives in from court to Mountjoy he goes to the reception area where all his personal details are taken, he is asked to remove his clothes and put just a towel around his waist, he is weighed, measured, and all scars and tattoos are noted down. His personal items are also taken away -money, jewellery, watches etc and he is allowed to have a shower before being given fresh prison clothes. Those clothes however are usually only a temporary measure because provided he can supply two sets of ordinary clothes he can wear them. So, once through the prison doors your dignity along with your freedom is removed. The women have a similar routine.

For the men the day in Mountjoy is a long one. They are wakened around 8 and queue for their breakfast which they take back to eat locked in their cells. After that they must slop out their overnight buckets and wash under a tap. Then they might go to a workshop - fabric, computers, or to school - basic literacy to OU degree. Some may go to the gym, others just mooch around in the yard. At around 12 they will queue again for dinner, take themselves and their tray to the cells and remain there, locked in until 2. They are unlocked for a few hours again until around 4.30 when they take their tea trays to their cells to eat and are unlocked from 5.30-7.30 each evening for recreation. At 7.30 they are locked up for the night and the next morning the routine begins again.

The number in the prison can vary from day today but it is usually around 400. Many of the prisoners would be drug addicts, mostly heroin and they are kept on a daily methadone maintenance programme.

The Inspector of Prisons feels that the lack of any real rehabilitation is a problem. Yet, as prison officers will tell you, a very fine programme was scrapped. Prisoners had a chance then to improve themselves and to go out into society living in places which were not their usual areas, getting jobs and creating a new and better life for themselves. Cutbacks saw the end of this.

The majority of male offenders in Mountjoy come from small pockets in the city. As a result and because of the prevailing drug culture there can be problems. Some men ask to be kept separately because they fear an attack for an unpaid drug bill. The men who are kept in the prison have committed the whole spectrum of crimes from petty criminals, through driving offences, to robberies to killing. All are treated in the same way when in jail.

In the Dochas Centre things are more relaxed. The women all attend classes during the day - for some these are academic, but there are also art classes, pottery, photography, sewing, hairdressing etc. they eat in a canteen and their houses are such that while some are locked into their rooms at night, others are not, and it is just the door of their house which is locked. They have kitchens in their houses and washing machines and are responsible for all their own laundry and for making their breakfasts and snacks at night.

The staff are very committed to their work and many show a tough sense of compassion with their charges. In the men’s prison all the staff wear uniforms while in the women’s some of the officers will be plain clothed, which can make it difficult to differentiate. Men and women officers work in both prisons.

The chaplains at Mountjoy are mostly Roman Catholic. It has always been the case that there has been a part time Church of Ireland chaplain attached to the prison and that the Church of Ireland chaplain ministers usually to people who are not Church of Ireland at all. In times past many would have been Church of England, now the mix is far greater.

On a Sunday morning the only people who are unlocked are those who are going to go to Mass or to the Church of Ireland service. The church we have is small and the numbers can vary from 3 or 4 to 20 or more. Recently we have had around 20 each Sunday which makes for interesting services - with sometimes standing room only. Bibles in English are supplied and thanks to CORE church we also have some foreign language Bibles. The prison has ordered new foreign language bibles and hymn books for use in the church. We sing some hymns, have prayers and a short reflection on the bible reading for the day. Afterwards there is tea and coffee. The women come to the male prison for the service.