BIG READ: Kilkenny People reporter goes to Mountjoy Prison

This week we print an exclusive report by our staff man, Martin Daly, on what life is like for political prisoners on the other side of the wall.

It was a cold blustery morning. I was outside Mountjoy jail - I wanted to get in. About 12 gardai huddled in groups taking shelter from the towering prison walls, the massive prison doors were closed, it was bleak.

My object was a full scale interview with a political detainee, 37-year-old Alphonsus Ryan. On February 18 he was arrested at his home at Bishop's grove, Ferrybank, under the Offences Against the State Act.

I wanted to meet the man who would risk hunger strike for 14 days and wanted to see what life was like for political prisoners South of the Border.

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In all I succeeded in securing four separate interviews with Alphonsus Ryan under the constant scrutiny of a prison warden.

The prison authorities were not aware of the purpose of the visits and each meeting was confined to 15 minutes. I had to wait each time for about half an hour and I was able to observe conditions in close detail as they affected both visitors and prisoners alike.

Among the men I met face to face were Walter. Lynch, secretary of Sinn Fein (Kevin street); author-journalist, Diarmuid Ó Suilleabháin, Liam Lynch and of course Al Ryan.

Inside the prison main gate, security was strict. I could not risk taking any notes as formal interviews are forbidden. During exchanges of cigarette packets personal information and background information was passed.

This was done in the presence of cautious wardens. It is paradoxical that although the living conditions of political detainees in the North have been fully described, the circumstances under which political prisoners live on this side of the Border are kept closely guarded from the eyes of the Press.

The interviews brought to light the conditions afforded to political detainees inside the prison, their privileges and the extent of organisation among detainees in the political wing.

I discovered that life was not all that difficult and that the men were treated not only with fairness but that they were also feared for the disturbances they might create.

I also learned how they succeeded in commemorating the Easter Rising despite the ruling by the Minister for Justice, Mr. Desmond O'Malley TD, expressly forbidding any demonstration.

I was told of the methods the detainees use in order to ensure their demands are met and of the attitudes of other prisoners towards them.

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