A Laois County Councillor has called for a conversation on the possibility of turning part of Portlaoise Prison into a tourist attraction.
Independent Councillor Tommy Mulligan brought forward a motion on the matter at a recent meeting of Laois County Council.
Cllr Mulligan said that he brought this forward as a result of a feasibility study carried out on the E-Wing at Portlaoise Prison which is no longer fit for purpose.
He said: “The reason I’m bringing it forward for this month is that it’s on the back of the Irish Prison Servic carrying out a feasibility study.
“This was done on the E-Wing to determine whether the wing could be upgraded to a facility acceptable by today’s standards.
“So according to that feasibility study, it looks like it’s going to be too costly an operation, and it looks like it’s going to be too expensive, and as a result of being too expensive, there is a real risk of that wing either being left derelict or being demolished.
“There’s five inmates there at the moment, and they’re not going to be replaced, or any other inmates taking their place.
“So all I’m trying to do here today is that we get a conversation going, we get a discussion going, and it’s highly likely that this could disappear without us having any input.
“So I just want to have a discussion, a conversation around the opportunity of possibly establishing a tourist centre or a museum in that prison wing.”
Cllr Mulligan then provided a detailed breakdown of all of the historical events that have happened in Portlaoise Prison over the years from when it was built in the 1830s.
He detailed the prison’s association with the War of Independence and Civil War plus the numerous infamous jail breaks and the shooting of Brian Stack.
Cllr Mulligan added: “Portlaoise Prison has a huge history for the town and the county.
“And we could use this as an advantage if there was potential to turn it into a tourist attraction.
“Recently, Sligo Jail received funding for the jail to be repurposed as a tourist attraction.
“So jails do work as tourist attractions. So I’m just putting it out here today, and I’d love to hear the opinions from other councillors as well.
“Can we explore if there are options around a visitor centre or a museum or prison tours in E-Wing? I just view this as an opportunity that we should explore it before it’s too late.”
Seconding the motion, Independent Councillor Aisling Moran compared the success of Kilmainham Gaol and how that has worked as a tourist attraction.
Caroline Dwane-Stanley, also an Independent, supported Cllr Mulligan’s motion.
She said: “I think what would be interesting to find out is what the department will come back with in terms of what their plans are to do with it.
“I heard Minister O’Callaghan recently talk about the need for extra prison spaces and that our prisons are overcrowded.”
Fine Gael Councillor Paddy Buggy also spoke about the overcrowding in prisons and how there may be a reluctance to turn part of a prison into a tourist attraction.
He said: “I’m the chairman of the visiting committee for the Midlands Prison, which is next door.
“This is a prison that was built for 840 inmates, and on average there’s 1,000 to 1,075 in there every month. So there’s gross overcrowding in the prison service at the moment.
“So although it’s a lovely idea to think it could be turned into a mini Kilmainham Gaol, I don’t know if the department would be in a position to actually give it for that purpose.
“I think it’s more than needed for space for inmates ourselves in the country, in the short term at least, because unfortunately we’ve high levels of crime, we’ve got a lot of high detection as well, and a lot of people are being committed.
“In fact, we have a situation now where people are being released early out of prison to make room for those that are being committed in the front court cases.
“So the idea is lovely, but I don’t think the timing is right at the moment. But let’s see what the department has to say.”
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