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The entrance to Mountjoy Prison in north Dublin. Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

Mountjoy Prison put on lockdown after drugs thrown into exercise yard

The incident happened at around 11am yesterday morning.

THE IRISH PRISON Service has confirmed that an area of Mountjoy Prison was put under lockdown yesterday after a packet of drugs was thrown from the prison roof and into an exercise yard.

A prisoner had climbed onto the roof of the prison at around 11am yesterday to retrieve the package which had earlier been thrown there from a public street, the Herald reported.

Before officers could get to him, the inmate managed to throw the package into the exercise yard. Many of the prisoners then attempted to retrieve drugs from the parcel.

The incident meant that the 35 prisoners were not allowed leave the exercise yard as officers searched for the contraband.

A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service told TheJournal.ie it will investigate how the events unfolded and said that if there are people found in possession of drugs, gardaí will be informed and prosecutions could follow.

Read: RTÉ’s top-10 earners list has three women and Tubridy on top >

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49 Comments
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    Mute Dj
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    May 28th 2018, 12:17 AM

    196 representations by Charlie Flanagan alone? Doesn’t sound suspicious at all.

    153
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    Mute Evan Cunningham
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    May 28th 2018, 12:29 AM

    @Dj: He was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade…

    75
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    Mute iohanx
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    May 28th 2018, 4:05 AM

    @Dj: obviously has the dumbest or laziest constituents whom can’t read an application forms criteria.

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    Mute Frainc Ó Broin
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    May 28th 2018, 8:07 AM

    @iohanx: must be the which minister can you bring section!

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    Mute Brendan Gordon
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    May 28th 2018, 1:54 AM

    They wouldn’t have to if the passport office would actually answer the phone and respond to email. I can understand that they’re understaffed but ignoring queries means more incomplete applications that must be sent back and time wasted.

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    Mute steve white
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    May 28th 2018, 12:16 AM

    We are not looking for any favourtism
    then what else?

    99
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    Mute iohanx
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    May 28th 2018, 4:09 AM

    @steve white: this is a mainly about dumb people whom don’t plan when they want to travel. There are always emergencies, but there will always be dopes looking for assists

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    Mute John Murphy
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    May 28th 2018, 12:54 AM

    They probably work on a first come first serve basis so dealing with politicians requests just slows up the process for everyone else.

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    Mute Mia Morrissey
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    May 28th 2018, 7:24 AM

    I sent my sons passport in at the start of April for a trip in oct . I sent it through passport express. Plenty of time . An unscheduled trip for family to the UK came up . The passport was gone six weeks and no one from the passport office could be contacted via email webchat or phone . I got on via webchat waiting for hours each time and they wouldn’t help , the last time I was told unless someone was dead with evidence my 3 year olds son passport wouldn’t be done .so I asked for help out of pure desperation . I got it with hours to spare . The passport office are v difficult to deal with .

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    Mute Larry Doyle
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    May 28th 2018, 12:38 AM

    Has John Waters got his passport yet?

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    Mute Colette Kearns
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    May 28th 2018, 1:08 AM

    @Larry Doyle: I think that gobsh*te had already made plans to move to Spain. Just an attention seeker!

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    Mute Gavin R
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    May 28th 2018, 6:57 AM

    And one was for me, so I could get a valid passport back that I send in to support an application, forgetting I was travelling, the staff were no help at all sent in 10 emails to no reply, calls on hold for upto an hour. Shocking customer support.

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    Mute Sebastian Manka
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    May 28th 2018, 7:01 AM

    Such representations mean pure chronism and should be made explicitly illegal. Naming and shamimg is useful in the meantime though.

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    Mute Pearse Mc Mullen
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    May 28th 2018, 12:40 AM

    The Fine Gael and the Fianna Fáil boyos seem to have gone nuts on them altogether

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    Mute Oisín O'Connor
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    May 28th 2018, 6:02 AM

    Shouldn’t this be shifted to local councillors instead? And isn’t there an actual fast track system where you pay a bit more for the faster turn around?

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    Mute RobbieL
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    May 28th 2018, 6:17 AM

    @Oisín O’Connor:
    I completed my application for a new passport on line and it was a 4 day turn around and i didnt have any need to contact my local TD’s thankfully

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    Mute John Campbell
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    May 28th 2018, 7:05 AM

    @RobbieL: ssshh! You’ll spoil the importance of TDS and Senators. Their public profile will disappear altogether if people look after their own affairs.

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    Mute
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    May 28th 2018, 7:38 AM

    @RobbieL: yeah sure you did

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    Mute Mark Fields
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    May 28th 2018, 3:16 AM

    Why would anyone want a passport to leave Ireland?

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    Mute Shane
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    May 28th 2018, 2:07 PM

    Funny how the 3,500 recently new “Irish Citizens” had no problem getting their passports, all had them to hand on the day to parade in front of the camera’s.

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    Mute Tomás Ó Conaola
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    May 28th 2018, 8:23 AM

    We need another two or three physical passport offices , in Galway & Sligo as examples. Also, automated renewals with pre scanned photos, renewal reminder notices automatically sent out by email, and arguably 15 year passports also ( I’ve not aged in 15 years at any rate…). Or add it to the functions of local government, arguably, despite their flaws.

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    Mute Sean Conway
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    May 28th 2018, 7:04 AM

    The only reason FF/FG did so well in workingclass areas was promising medical cards for them. something they were entitled already.

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    Mute Tom Molloy
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    May 28th 2018, 7:28 AM

    Helping nobody has now been turned into a virtue by our new spiritual guides, media busybodies ?

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    May 28th 2018, 10:04 AM

    that is how they get the votes that re-elect them….. it is a micro version of “stroke” politics whether it be passports or getting a pedestrian crossing or a street light or 1001 other things it is a “game” played to make it appear that your friendly TD has done you a favour….

    There is a place for TDs and other elected officials to follow through on issues that affect constituents but there has to be a balance… and in this case maybe the people waiting for passports did have issues that needed speeding up over the longer waiting lists… who knows for sure

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    Mute Henry Baggins
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    May 28th 2018, 12:24 AM

    That’s all they are good for.

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