A retired prison officer has suggested Daniel Kinahan will have ‘absolutely no control over his life’ in Ireland’s notorious Portlaoise Prison, where he is locked up as he awaits his trial
Daniel Kinahan is staring down the barrel of his “toughest challenge” inside Portlaoise Prison where he’ll have “no control of his life”, according to a former officer.
Kinahan, 49, is currently locked up while waiting to stand trial for allegedly directing the activities of an organised crime gang between October 8, 2015 and April 6, 2017. On Sunday night, following his 14-minute appearance at the Special Criminal Court, Kinahan was taken to the maximum security prison in county Laois, Ireland.
According to The Sun, he’s being held on the A4 landing of the notorious jail. Although Kinahan was holed up in the United Arab Emirates’ grim Al-Awir Central Prison for four months, Portlaoise will be no walk in the park.
Retired prison officer David McDonald told the Sun: “Kinahan is going from a life of luxury in Dubai to a very different life in Portlaoise Prison. He will have absolutely no control of his life when he’s in Portlaoise. If he wants a Mars bar from the tuck shop, he’ll have to put an order in.
“He will have access to a gym and education, but that’s about it. It can be very boring in jail. Each day can be the same because it doesn’t change.
“Every time he leaves his cell there will be at least three or four prison officers, so his every move is monitored. There are multiple cameras covering the prison outside his cell and I think anyone would struggle to adapt to this way of life.”
Kinahan is understood to be sharing the A4 landing with drug importer Nathan McDonnell and – more chillingly – triple killer Andy Cash, who killed his younger siblings in 2022.
McDonald added: “If he’s a model prisoner, his time on remand will be much easier. He will have absolutely no say in anything.
“He’s entitled to phone calls, letters and visits but everything will be monitored. He will be in there for months until his trial and it will certainly be interesting to see how he gets on.”