Menu
Ireland's political and cultural magazine
October-November 47
the staff. The Prison Officers’ Association
(POA), instead of defending its members,
appeared to serve the interests of the
Department of Justice.
The decline of the Prison
Oicers’ Association (POA)
The POA’s decline began when its leadership
arranged motions of no confidence in its
former President and General Secretary, PJ
McEvoy, after he had attempted to highlight
the wrongful dismissal of seven prison officers.
His microphone was infamously turned off
during the 1992 POA National Conference.
Bullying culture under Chief
Oicer Horan
Chief Officer Horan fostered a toxic work
environment in Portlaoise, targeting certain
officers for harassment and punishment. A
group of officers from Offaly were particular
targets. Horan manipulated work rosters to
punish individuals. For example, Officer Sean
McCartney was repeatedly stationed at
Portlaoise’s boiler house gate in the rain, part
of a continuous tormenting of him.
Despite he Irish Army,
grrisoned s senries in
Porloise, firing shos
me, I mnged o cpure
IRA prisoner McVeigh
nd hnd him over o he
grdí
Introduction
Chief Officer Mick Horan played a central role
in systematic bullying at Portlaoise Prison. His
abuse of power primarily targeted individual
prison officers, and his actions were
characterised by open aggression against
those unable to defend themselves. Despite
the blatant nature of this harassment, no
intervention occurred on behalf of the State or
1980s Porloise run by IRA
nd bunch of bullies who
ried o frme hero officers
Systematic bullying Irelnd’s
highes securiy prison, Porloise,
ignored by prison officers’ union
By Sen O’Brien
The tragic consequences
of bullying
The bullying orchestrated by Horan had severe
consequences. He was implicated in an
incident where he kicked a prisoner in the face,
blinding him in one eye. Officer In a tragic
case, Officer JG Burke, who had faced
prolonged bullying, took his own life. The
emotional toll on the officers was profound,
leaving long-lasting scars.
Horan extended his bullying by exploiting
sick leave regulations, using them to paint
officers to the Justice Department as weak or
irresponsible when they took time off for
bullying-related stress, so losing wages. This
further isolated and stigmatised the victims,
worsening both their emotional and financial
well-being.
False accusations and
attempts to frame me and
Paddy Dunne
One of the most destructive incidents involved
Assistant Chief Officer Paddy Dunne, who
became a direct target of Horan.
On May 18, 1988, Patrick McVeigh, a
Provisional IRA member facing extradition to
Britain, attempted to escape from Portlaoise
Prison.
Horan ordered and pushed me into a
dangerous, ‘shoot to kill’ area in the direction
where McVeigh was trying to flee.
Despite the Irish Army, garrisoned as
sentries in Portlaoise, firing shots directly at
me. I managed to capture McVeigh and hand
Sen O’Brien: got dismissed from prison
service nd thirty-five yers of mentl
nquish
Portloise Prison nd lnding (inset)
POLITICS
VillageOctNov24.indb 47 03/10/2024 14:27
48 October-November
him over to the gardaí. I was interested that,
finally after 51 years, it was announced on 3
October that the army are to leave Portlaoise.
After the shooting incident, the IRA — as
Martin Ferris, then IRA Officer in Command,
later conceded — ordered me off the prison’s
landings, which they controlled anyway, on
pain of death. I was then ordered by Prison
Governor Ned Harkins not to enter the prison.
This was, to say the least, not conducive to
doing my job as an officer there.
After this, Governor Harkins and Deputy
Horan went to Dunne’s home in Harkins’ black
car. Harkins remained in the vehicle while
Horan approached Paddy Dunne in a heated
exchange and suspended him. Before Horan
finished, he pointed out a garden nursery
belonging to Paddy’s wife at Dunne’s house
and said the Department would be sacking him
as he should not have a business.
Shortly after, I was called into the office of
Governor Harkin, where I was ordered to
rewrite a false report of the incident in my own
handwriting. This fabricated account aimed to
cover up Horan’s failures relating to the escape
and instead blame Paddy Dunne. The false
report claimed that Deputy Horan was insisting
that Dunne go after the escaping prisoner, but
Dunne was refusing, saying, “I’m not going
down there to be shot”. Dunne eventually
pulled out his shirt and responded, “This is not
a bulletproof jacket”. Dunne then — in the
fabricated version — proceeded to undermine
Deputy Horan’s orders by advising other
officers not to go down, as they could be shot.
I refused to write up this Orwellian version,
although other officers did as instructed.
Governor Harkins opened a drawer, pulled out
a uniform stripe, and said, “If you do this, you
can go over to Tom” — Tom was the prison
tailor — “he would put up the stripe for you”.
Again, I refused to comply with the demand
and said, “I pursued the prisoner; I couldn’t
have heard Deputy Horan”. The Governor,
visibly angry, abruptly rose from the desk and,
with a raised voice, exclaimed, “You do as
you’re fucking told, or you can leave your
uniform at the gate on the way out”.
After this meeting, Paddy Dunne was
arrested by a group of armed gardaí, the
infamous ‘Heavy Gang’ and taken to a Garda
station where he was physically and verbally
abused. A detective ominously asked if he had
taken a suitcase with him, warning that he
wouldn’t be going home that night and would
be locked up on E-4 landing in the prison. Later,
he was taken to an interview room, where three
detectives aggressively accused him of
smuggling keys and guns for the IRA, planning
the prison escape and of instructing other
officers not to chase Paddy McVeigh. If Harkins
had managed to get me to sign the report, they
would have locked Dunne up for sure.
When I reported this to union official Noel
Toohey, expecting him to act, he showed no
concern, dismissing the abuse as standard
procedure. It became clear that the POA was
colluding with the Justice Department, setting
me and Paddy up. I realised how deeply I was
trapped in a dangerous conspiracy.
I brought to the attention of Noel O’Beara, a
senior official at the Department of Justice, on
the 14 June 1988, the attempted framing of
Paddy Dunne. I also implicated Harkins in
collaborating with the IRA, alleging Harkins
had supplied explosives, guns, and keys to the
IRA, and even handed back to an IRA prisoner
a loaded handgun just used by another IRA
prisoner, Peter Rogers, who had unsuccessfully
tried to shoot my brother, Hugh.
Four days after I submitted my report, Paddy
was reinstated. It became apparent that the
schemes orchestrated by Harkins and Horan
were now beginning to unravel.
Harkins went on holiday a few months after
the escape and never returned to duty in the
prison. Despite these revelations, some
involving official collusion with the IRA, no
actions were taken on behalf of the State.
The Role of the POA
In 1989, the POA was instructed by the
Depar tment of Justice to remain passive during
the investigation into the shooting incident
involving the IRA prisoner. The POA complied,
reinforcing the perception that it had
abandoned its duty to protect its members.
Death of Dunne;
Department organises
medals
A few years later, the day Paddy Dunne retired,
he took off his uniform for the last time in the
family kitchen. Tearing it in one corner he said,
“That was an awful place to work. Burn that
uniform”.
Paddy’s health had deteriorated significantly
as a direct result of his treatment by the
management at Portlaoise Prison and the
Department of Justice. His family firmly believes
that this contributed to his tragic death.
After he died, the Department of Justice
proposed various medals. The POA and the
Department, took control of the funeral
arrangements, stating that his friends would
perform a guard of honour. His wife initially
believed this meant his soccer friends, but
instead, flags and uniforms were arranged,
turning the funeral into what his wife described
as “a show — they made a circus out of it”.
Manipulation of Reports
and Union Involvement
After being fired by Governor Harkins for
refusing to file a false report, I sought help from
union official Officer Noel Toohey. Toohey,
despite his questionable hygiene and odd
behaviour, assured methat only the government
could dismiss a permanent civil servant and
hinted that both Governor Harkins and Deputy
Governor Horan were at risk of losing their jobs.
However, Toohey soon proved unreliable. He
approached me in distress, noting that Dunne
was being framed. Though initially appearing
concerned, Toohey’s panic seemed staged.
Toohey coerced me into falsifying a report,
similar to the one Harkin had sought and no
doubt on the back of his idea, warning that
Dunne’s job depended on it. He demonstratively
pulled a piece of paper from his pocketand
started to give dictation to me. His aim was to
ensure the shooting incident and other
sensitive events were omitted from the report,
suggesting he was acting on behalf of Governor
Harkins.
POA General Secretary Dennis McGrath
made a strong appearance on the RTE News,
expressing severe criticism of the shooting
incident. However, his comments changed
later, and he went silent, seemingly influenced
by handlers in the Justice Department.
The Justice Department made it clear to
McGrath that the POA should refrain from
taking any action if the Department chose to
terminate my employment, and he duly ensured
the POA was conmplicit.
Conclusion: the Failure of
the POA and the Justice
Department
The systemic failure of leadership,
accountability, and justice at Portlaoise Prison
allowed a culture of bullying and fear to persist.
The Prison Officers’ Association, which was
meant to protect its members, instead enabled
the abuse. In June I met the current Minister,
Helen McEntee, who expressed concern.
However, the tale, including of collusion with
the IRA, has yet to impinge on the discourse.
I ws ordered o rewrie
fbriced ccoun
imed o cover up Horn’s
filures reling o he
escpe nd insed blme
Pddy Dunne; bu I didn’
RTÉ clip of 18 My 1988, clerly showing
rmy sentries shooting t O’Brien from roof
of E Prison, Portloise
VillageOctNov24.indb 48 03/10/2024 14:27
