Daniel Kinahan’s jail neighbours from hell embody father and son who tortured sufferer

Daniel Kinahan has been charged with directing an organised crime group between 2015 and 2017 and is being held on remand in the maximum-security Portlaoise Prison as he awaits trial

Daniel Kinahan has transitioned from a lavish lifestyle in Dubai to sharing quarters with some of Ireland’s most dangerous criminals after finding himself behind bars this week.

While he awaits trial following a charge of orchestrating an organised crime group between 2015 and 2017, the suspected crime boss is being detained at the high-security Portlaoise Prison. Reports suggest he occupies an entire section of the wing by himself.

The 49-year-old remains completely isolated from fellow prisoners on A Block. However, guards at the nation’s most fortified facility in County Laois are maintaining round-the-clock surveillance of the Dubliner who is under constant suicide monitoring.

It’s believed that Kinahan will remain confined to his cell for 20 hours daily.

And while he’ll have access to television streaming platforms such as Netflix, he’ll have ample opportunity to reflect on how his circumstances led to facing charges of running a criminal enterprise.

As the former boxing promoter adapts to his new surroundings, we examine some of his most dangerous new fellow inmates.

Despite having his own wing to himself, there are several menacing individuals who are allegedly housed on the same corridor as him.

This includes Andy Cash who fatally stabbed his three siblings hundreds of times. The horrific assault occurred in Tallaght, Dublin, in 2022 where Lisa Cash, 18, and twin brother and sister, Christy and Chelsea Cawley, eight, tragically perished.

Also housed within the 200 year old high-security jail are father-and-son Kenneth and Dean Fitzsimons, who uniquely amongst all inmates, occupy their own shared cell.

The duo are completing eight year and eight and a half year terms respectively after an incident just last year when a man was branded with the word “RAT” using a hot branding iron.

The victim was also battered, burned and stabbed during the horrific attack in Blanchardstown, Dublin, in February 2025.

The victim, Barry Moore, subsequently stated: “My face and body are destroyed. They held me hostage and beat me for over one hour. I thought I would die several times. I hope these markings are not permanent.”

Portlaoise Prison also houses garda killer Aaron Brady, who was infamously involved in an alcohol-fuelled prison fight within the facility with a criminal called Sean Groome, who is completing a 15-year-term after a man was stabbed 16 times and set alight.

According to reports, Brady struck Groome before a major New Year’s brawl broke out on the C4 landing in 2023.

One recognisable figure to Kinahan will be Sean McGovern, frequently described as his lieutenant.

McGovern sustained injuries in the Regency Hotel shooting before becoming the first individual to be extradited to Ireland from the United Arab Emirates and subsequently admitted to directing a criminal organisation.

Despite his links to Kinahan, the pair are not anticipated to encounter each other behind bars. During his stay in Portlaoise, Kinahan will be permitted use of the gymnasium and exercise yard – though strictly in isolation.

He is granted telephone privileges and visits, and recently issued an invitation to podcaster James English.

In one conversation, Kinahan suggested he might become a target, stating: “If I happen to fall and bang my head when I have handcuffs on me, I didn’t fall. If I end up hanging myself, killing myself, poisoning myself, it didn’t happen. I’m not suicidal.”

He will stand trial sometime next year after being charged with leading the Kinahan Organised Crime Group during a period when a vicious feud led to 18 killings.