Large increase in criminal gangs in Irish prisons creating an operational strain

THE IRISH PRISON Service has seen a rise in the number of criminal groups behind bars, with 34 different gangs identified in 2025 compared to just 19 the year before.

It comes at a time when several major crime bosses are behind bars, including top Kinahan cartel leader Sean McGovern, and when gardaí are seeking the extradition of Daniel Kinahan himself after he was arrested in Dubai for his “alleged role in an international organised crime network”.

Prison officers are having to keep these groups completely separate each day, which has presented complex challenges in prisons such as Mountjoy, where the General Director of the Irish Prison Service (IPS), Caron McCaffrey, says that 16 different groups are being kept separate, with different exercise times each day.

McCaffrey was speaking at the annual conference of the Irish Prison Officers Association (POA) conference in Kilkenny, where delegates from prisons across the country have gathered to discuss key issues, including dealing with organised crime groups. 

Just within Mountjoy prison, the procedures in place for officers to manage those affiliated with different groups are incredibly complex. 

It’s understood that the C and D wings of the prison are where inmates affiliated with the Kinahan transnational organised crime group are held, while prisoners associated with the Finglas-based ‘Gucci Gang’ and the Hutch Organised Crime Group are held in Wheatfield prison in Clondalkin. 

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Outside of the Kinahan, Hutch and Gucci Gang groups, the IPS is dealing with prisoners affiliated with numerous other criminal organisations, down to those involved in smaller, familial turf wars outside of prisons, which can then cause major issues within them.

While intelligence operations track gang activity in prisons, affiliation is often self-declared by prisoners who state their need for protection.

Just within the A and B divisions of Mountjoy, there are over 300 prisoners identified as needing protection, and around ten different identified gangs are associated with these prisoners alone. 

Prison Officers are trying to manage this situation when the prison itself is at 137% capacity, with 65 male and 42 female prisoners having slept on mattresses on the floor yesterday due to a lack of bed spaces.

Over 130 prison officers faced assaults while on the job last year, which POA President Redmond said is directly related to overcrowding, which he says has created a situation in prisons where organised crime groups are able to “thrive”.

In an address he gave to delegates of the organisation yesterday, which was aimed at Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, Redmond said that drugs, phones and weapons are now present in prisons at an “alarming scale”.

He added that organised crime gangs in custody are controlling contraband operations, and making “significant profits for their endeavours”.

“There is so much contraband in our prisons that prisoners are brazenly stockpiling contraband everywhere and anywhere they can for future sale and use,” he further said.

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In 2025, compared to the year previous, drug seizures were up 28% to 1,325, and weapon seizures were up by 70% to 441.

Despite this, the number of arrests within prisons decreased by 20% to just 84.
Redmond said that there were 384 detected drone drops last year, but he stressed that the introduction of specialised mesh netting in Wheatfield, Mountjoy and Cloverhill prisons has seen the levels of drops taking place decrease dramatically.

The POA is calling for this netting to be introduced over every prison exercise yard in the country, but McCaffrey yesterday told reporters that this measure would come at an enormous cost, and an “intelligence-led” approach is being taken to bring in the netting where it is needed most.

The association maintains that overcrowding is affecting the ability of prison officers to deal with crime groups and to prevent violent incidents and the circulation of contraband.

However, Director General McCaffrey yesterday, told the media that the IPS is experienced and prepared when it comes to dealing with major crime bosses behind bars.

“We accommodate a broad range of prisoners from sex offenders to subversive prisoners to gangland figures, and we’ve consistently done that through the decades, we’ve always managed to balance safety and security with humane treatment and dignity,” she said.

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