Sources have also described the incident, which took place on Cloverhill’s D2 landing, as the ‘perfect storm,’ adding that it came amid an unprecedented overcrowding crisis in the prison.
15:32, 18 Jun 2026Updated 19:23, 18 Jun 2026
A landing in Dublin’s Cloverhill Prison(Image: Paul Healy)
An elderly prisoner has lost an eye after another lag stabbed him in a horrific attack in Dublin’s remand prison.
The prisoner, who is aged in his 70s, was stabbed in the eye with a pen during a vicious attack in his cell in Cloverhill Prison on Wednesday.
Sources say the prisoner was stabbed in the eye and ear in an attack that is now being investigated by gardai.
Sources have also described the incident, which took place on Cloverhill’s D2 landing, as the “perfect storm,” adding that it came amid an unprecedented overcrowding crisis in the prison.
The crisis has meant prisoners are being kept together in conditions where they normally wouldn’t, sources said.
Sources stated that the D2 landing itself is home to many prisoners who are deemed to have serious mental health concerns – and therefore they are not typically housed in the same cell.
However with the number of prisoners in the remand prison being well over capacity, the Irish Prison Service has been left with no choice but to shack some of them together.
“This really is the perfect storm. These prisoners need a lot of help and are housed on this landing for a reason. The fact that this incident has happened highlights just how bad the overcrowding problem has become.”
Cloverhill Prisons The Circle area
Cloverhill Prison cell
Sources added that prison bosses are under even more pressure due to the intake of people who are due to be deported from Ireland.
Dozens of men have been placed in the remand prison while they undergo immigration proceedings and are ultimately deported from this country.
Sources say that has added to the numbers in the already over capacity jail – and this has led to as many as four prisoners being in the one cell.
Many prisoners are also sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
The issue comes amid recent correspondence that was revealed between the Director of the Irish Prison Service Caron McCaffrey and Department of Justice officials about the issue earlier this year.
Ms McCaffrey sought a meeting with the officials, stating that the system simply did “not have the ability to cope.”
“In terms of Cloverhill, there are 19 deportees to be accommodated … as you know we have 469 in custody today with a capacity of 433 and 34 men on the floor,” she stated at the time.
She added that a meeting was needed to discuss the implications of holding “large groups of immigration detainees” in already overcrowded prisons.
Cloverhil Prison(Image: Philip Fitzpatrick)
The Irish Prison Service said it does not comment on individual cases. Gardai however confirmed an investigation into the incident.
A Garda spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: “Gardaí received a report of an alleged assault that occurred at Cloverhill Prison on Wednesday 17th June 2026. A man (aged in his 70’s) is receiving treatment for serious injuries believed to be non- life threatening. Investigations are ongoing.”
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