Mountjoy head criticises recent media coverage of the prison

Sections of the media have been criticised strongly by the governor of Mountjoy Prison for writing "offensive, provocative and misinformed" articles about prison inmates.

Mr John Lonergan said he generally had a good relationship with the media, but recent reports on some of his prisoners had crossed the line.

Recently one newspaper carried front-page articles about an alleged "Blind Date" evening and a barbecue at Mountjoy Prison. It referred to "convicted killers and drug pushers . . . playing Blind Date and feasting at a barbecue in Mountjoy Jail".

Mr Lonergan said the so-called barbecue was not much more than "a cup of tea and a leaf of lettuce", which was taken in the exercise yard because the weather was nice.

One article spoke about an inmate winning a candlelit dinner and being left alone with her "date" for an hour.

Mr Lonergan rejected this yesterday. The governor said staff had organised a blind-date evening, but the prizes were fictitious and everyone knew this.

He felt particularly angry that a newspaper had published a large picture of one young inmate, describing her as a killer. "This young woman is seven years into her life sentence and is trying to pull her life together."

Mr Lonergan said that the prisoners were devastated by these reports. "People think that prisoners are tough-skinned but the reality is quite different."

He said there seemed to be a theory that, because someone committed a serious crime, they should lose their rights as a human being.

He said newspapers had become more intrusive in recent months, particularly towards women prisoners since Catherine Nevin's conviction. "A line must be drawn at some stage to allow prisoners a bit of space to reform and repent."