TWO PRISON officers and an inmate were wounded after they were attacked by a prisoner with a makeshift knife in a row over a pair of trainers at Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.
The injured prisoner was stabbed three times in the back with an improvised blade, known in prisons as shivs. One of the prison officers was wounded across the stomach while the other was wounded in the arm.
The incident took place just after 11am yesterday in a recreation yard in Mountjoy’s A wing where up to 100 inmates were exercising.
Prison sources said a row broke out between the two inmates because a pair of trainers owned by one of the men had gone missing. One inmate was attacked by the other inmate with the shiv, wounding him three times in the back.
When two prison officers intervened the man with the weapon attacked and wounded them. The situation was quickly brought under control and the injured men were taken to the Mater hospital.
The shiv – a weapon often made from blades and sharpened toothbrush handles — had not been found last night.
The man thought to be responsible for the attack is a convicted drug dealer from Dublin’s northside. He is regarded as a very violent prisoner and has been the subject of more than 60 disciplinary matters during his time in Mountjoy.
The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said it was unacceptable that two of its members would be stabbed on duty. A spokesman said the attack underlined the dangers for staff in jails.
POA sources said members of the association were angered at what they believed were efforts by the Irish Prison Service to play down the attack.
The prison service denied any of the injured men had been stabbed. It said the injured prisoner had sustained “puncture” wounds and the two prison officers had sustained “superficial wounds” to the stomach and arm.
A statement released by the prison service said no level of violence was acceptable and that every effort was made to limit it.
“However, no regime can completely eliminate the possibility of violent incidents happening in a prison setting where we are holding a large number of dangerous and violent offenders.”
While the prison service believed the incident had been sparked because of missing trainers, it accepted overcrowding was an issue. It had begun a series of capital projects across the system to increase prison spaces.
Yesterday’s attack in Mountjoy follows a violent incident in Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon, earlier this week. Prison officers were forced to withdraw from the A wing of the jail when five prisoners began rioting, smashing up toilets in the area.
The officers donned riot gear and went back into the wing after an hour of violence and regained control.
The inmates were protesting at being transferred from the Midlands prison, Portlaoise, last Friday. Two of the inmates were hospitalised after the disturbance. Sources said they had injured themselves smashing up sinks and toilets.
The men have since been transferred to the segregation wing at Castlerea.