Irelands main prisons Cork, Mountjoy and Limerick special protection is being given to more than 75 prisoners

The ongoing feud between the six main criminal gangs in Limerick has spilled over into the state’s main prisons in Cork, Mountjoy and Limerick, writes John Burke.
special protection is being given to more than 75 prisoners in Mountjoy Prison, due to feuding between gangs in Limerick city which has spread to include a number of gangs in Dublin. The number of prisoners under protection at the jail represents almost a fifth of the inmates.The number does not include others under protection, such as sex offenders. The feud is being directed by fewer than half a dozen inmates who are major players in drugs gangs in Moyross, Southill and St Mary’s Park in Limerick, as well as criminals from several major Dublin gangs.Senior prison sources have said that the prisoners under special protection have asked to go on 23-hour lock-up in a bid to evade the escalating conflict.A study earlier this year found that 45 per cent of 500 prisoners tested at Limerick prison tested positive for some sort of opiate, among which 37 per cent tested positive for cannabis.