Cork Prison (Irish: Príosún Chorcaí)[2] is an Irish penal institution on Rathmore Road, Cork City, Ireland. It is a closed, medium security prison for males over 17 years of age. As of 2022, it had a bed capacity of 296 and the daily average number of resident inmates was 262.[3][4] It is immediately adjacent to Collins Barracks and near the Glen area of the city.
  | |
| Location | Rathmore Road, Cork City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°54′32″N 8°27′38″W / 51.9088°N 8.4606°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Medium Security |
| Capacity | 296 |
| Population | 262 (as of 2022) |
| Former name | Collins Barracks |
| Managed by | Irish Prison Service |
| Governor | Patrick Dawson[1] |
While the current prison facility was built and opened as a €45m development in 2016, it replaced an existing 19th century prison facility on the same road.
History
editDetention Barracks (1806)
editIn 1806 a military barracks was opened by the British Government on Rathmore Road, Cork City, the new complex included a Detention Barracks for use by the military.
In 1916, during a round-up following the Easter Rising, the RIC went to arrest the nationalist Kent family at their home in Castleyons, County Cork. The family resisted and in an ensuing shoot-out, Richard Kent and Constable William Rowe were killed. The following week Thomas Kent was convicted of the murder of Constable Rowe. He was executed and buried at the military prison of Victoria Barracks (now Cork Prison).[5]
During the Irish War of Independence a number of executions were carried out at the prison and nearby barracks. Following independence in 1922, the barracks and the associated prison were taken over by the Irish Government and the complex was renamed Collins Army Barracks.
The detention barracks remained in the possession of the Irish Army until 1972.
Cork Prison (1972)
editThe military prison buildings, previously part of the broader barracks, were handed over to the Department of Justice for use as a civil prison. Collins Barracks itself remained in the control of the Irish Army, with the prison facility serviced with separate access via Rathmore Road.
The prison facility opened as a committal prison after considerable refurbishment in 1983.[6]
In the following decades, overcrowding became an issue. Though the official bed capacity was 272, in 2009 for example, the prison had a daily average inmate population of 298.[7] The practice of "slopping out" was noted as a concern,[8][9] and in 2011 a visiting committee described some parts of the 19th century facility as "archaic and Dickensian".[10]
The old Cork Prison building closed on 12 February 2016 after 210 years of operation as a military detention facility (since 1806) and a civilian prison (since 1972).
It has since been used as a filming location, including for the films Maze (2017) and Michael Inside (2017).[11]
"New" Cork Prison (2016)
editIn 2016, the older prison buildings were replaced by a new facility - constructed directly across Rathmore Road from the original prison. The new €45m prison facility is located on a 6-acre site.[12] Built by PJ Hegarty and Sons in 20 months, it has improved monitoring facilities,[13] and an operational capacity of 310 inmates.[citation needed]
James Collins retired as Governor of Cork prison in March 2016 and has been replaced by Governor Patrick Dawson.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Cork Prison". Irishprisons.ie. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "Priosuin agus Áiteanna Coinneala (Prisons and Places of Detention)" (in Irish). Citizens Information Centre. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ Irish Prison Service (2022). ANNUAL REPORT 2022 (PDF) (Report). p. 36.
- ^ Roche, Barry (22 January 2016). "New €45 million Cork Prison will mark 'a major improvement'". Irish Times. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ Brian Hayes Curtin (27 February 2014). "Mystery of Cork's 1916 patriot may be solved soon". Cork Independent. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ Irish Prisons Inspectorate (2007). Cork Prison Inspection: 5th - 12th June 2007 (PDF). Dublin.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Irish Prison Service (2010). Annual Report (PDF). Dublin. pp. 10–12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2011.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Dunphy, Liz (12 February 2016). "Prisoners moving into the new €40m Cork Prison today". Evening Echo. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "End of 'slopping-out' at new Cork prison". RTÉ News. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ Murtagh, Peter (8 June 2013). "Minister told Cork Prison overcrowded, 'archaic and Dickensian'". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ "Michael Inside brings a first time prisoner's experience to the big screen". Irish Examiner. 4 November 2017.
- ^ English, Eoin (22 January 2016). "New era dawns for Cork's new €42m state-of-the-art prison facility". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ O'Neill, Kevin (4 May 2016). "Cork Prison inmate locked outside in yard all night". Evening Echo. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.