Gardaí are investigating the fatal stabbing of a prisoner in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, yesterday.
The stabbing of Alan Green (30), from Bray, Co Wicklow, was discovered at 12.05 p.m., when prisoners were collecting their midday meals.
This followed a period between 10 a.m. and noon when prisoners usually receive visits or attend classes in the prison. They then usually return to their cells briefly, before leaving them again to collect their meals. Cells are unlocked at this time, and there is a lot of movement in the prison, according to a spokesman for the prison service.
The prisoner was discovered in his cell with a serious stab wound to the chest. Fellow prisoners called prison staff, and he was given immediate medical assistance. An ambulance was called, and ambulance staff tried to resuscitate him before he was rushed to the Mater Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12.45 p.m.
Gardaí were notified that a serious crime had been committed in the prison, the area was sealed off, and an official murder inquiry declared. As well as the Garda investigation, the governor of Mountjoy has also ordered an investigation into the incident.
Green had been serving a 12- month sentence for unlawful possession of drugs, and was due to be released in April.
He had been in and out of prison many times, mostly for minor offences.
This is the second fatal assault to have occurred in the Irish prison service in living memory, according to the Prison Service. The previous incident occurred in 2000, whea prisoner was fatally stabbed by a cell-mate, Larry Murphy. He was convicted of the murder, and is serving a life sentence.