Report on Visit to Mountjoy Prison
national |
bin tax / household tax / water tax |
news report 
Wednesday November 12, 2003 13:01
by Oisín Kelly - UCD Students' Union
sueducation at ucd dot ie
Student Centre, Belfield, D4 / SU Office, UCD, Earsfort Terrace, D2.
Yesterday (Tuesday 12th November) I went to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin
to visit David Murphy, UCDSU Class Rep and bin tax prisoner.
In
Mountjoy 2 other bin tax prisoners are jailed - Fionn Ryder and Mick Murphy.
The other 4 bin tax prisoners are in Wheatfield Prison. A request came
from the Department of Justice, probably from the Minister Michael
McDowell, that David and Fionn be put in with the general prison
population and not go to the more relaxed Training Unit. David was
getting on well and is in good spirits.
Mountjoy Prison is a very old prison, it was built in the 1850s and is
largely unchanged since then. David joked that he would love to see a
picture of his prison cell when it was built and it would be no
different to now other than a small light and electricity socket!I met
David in the Education area of the Prison where prisoners can go in
the mornings and afternoons. They do Art, History, Cookery, Politics
in the school. Many prisoners are studying to sit their Leaving
Certificate- the End of Secondary School Examinations (A levels in UK)
The conditions in the prison are disgraceful. David and Fionn are in a
cell together and don't have much room. There are no toilet facilities
in the cell. They are supplied with a bucket if they have to go to the
toilet during the night. They are only entitled to one shower a week
and one change of clothes a week. The standard of food is also very
low. They are not allowed have a watch and are restricted in the
number of phonecalls and letters they can send. I was able to look
around the School facilities in the Prison. They have not got adequate
space or resourses.
David, Fionn and Mick are in 'D wing' of the Prison. They are in with
the general prison population and are not segregated. David has not
had any problems with the other prisoners, they are friendly to them
and they respect the stand that they have taken. In general the prison
staff, in particular the teachers, have been very helpfull to them.
I gave David the letters that I was given to give to him, including greetings from abroad. I passed on the greetings of the UCD Students Union- he thanked all those that are camapigning for his release. David said that he may use 1 of his 2 letters he's allowed to send to tell USI President Will Priestly and the other USI officers to get active in the Campaign for the release of the prisoners. I would
encourage everyone to send in greetings to David, Fionn and Mick
in Mountjoy and the other 4 prisoners in Wheatfield to keep up their
morale.
Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Council calls on the USI to organise a city centre demonstration calling for the release of the anti-bin tax protesters." - part of UCDSU motion on the jailing of David Murphy.
USI Officers should stop going around the country with their inflated egos and actually start to represent their members. A USI member and Class Rep (who camapigned against disaffiliation last year) is now in prison for protesting.
Next year if fees are brought in the State could use injunctions against USI officers to jail them if they protest against the governments plans for education. There is already talk among many on the UCD left that we should not pay money to USI untill they get active on this attack on UCDSU and the right to protest. Disaffiliation once again?
Rumour has it that USI is in serious financial crisis apparently they will be repossessing computers and TV's etc in USI HQ fairly sharpish if they don't get cash quick. So I reckon the UCD SU should be ruthless and machavellian on this on. Give these bureacrats and FF careerists an unltimatum, MURPHY DEMO NOW OR NO CASH THIS YEAR.
I'm a UCD student and I also campaigned for a No vote, but I voted for a national union that would act in the interests of its members, I did not vote for that shower of inactive careerist bastards. Maybe its time that we think of disaffiliation and establish our own national union with people like UL and other progressive unions and groups within colleges?
"I would
encourage everyone to send in greetings to David, Fionn and Mick
in Mountjoy and the other 4 prisoners in Wheatfield to keep up their
morale. "
- Fecking great idea but what should also be done is that people should send letters of protest to Will Priestly and the USI for doing nothin while a member of theirs and activist in their union has been jailed.
Students should also contact their own SUs explaining Dave's case and asking them to support the campaign
Priestly is a FG blueshirt scabby blackleg bastard. He is in favour of the bin tax, he is in favour of the jailings, he is in favour of non collection, he is in favour of fees and in favour of cuts in education.
He is scum, he and his ilk need to be booted out of the student movement
Letters of Protest to:
Will Priestley, Ceann Áras na Mac Léinn, Grattan Street, Dublin 2.
email: president@usi.ie
Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2.
Solidarity letters to:
David Murphy/Fionn Ryder/Mick Murphy, Mountjoy Jail, North Circular Road, Dublin 7.
Sign the Free David Murphy online petition.
To: Irish Government
Bin Tax Jailings: Free Dave Murphy!
It is simply disgusting that while a Government TD (GV Wright) gets a E950 fine for being involved in a potentially lethal drunken driving incident, and while the Ansbacher tax-dodgers of the 1980's remain at large in Irish society, working class people are being jailed and fined up to E1500 for PEACEFUL PROTEST. Such double standards show up the corruption in the Political/Judical establishment in Ireland.
Therefore, We the undersigned call for:
* The immediate release of 20-year-old UCD student David Murphy from Mountjoy Prison.
* The immediate release of all other anti-bin tax protestors from Dublin's prisons.
* An end to the jailings of working class people for engaging in peaceful protest
(click on the link to sign the petition)
This is going to be an uphill battle.The State(Fianna Fail ) have just bought about thirty percent of the population ,who are happily in their pockets with juicy "benchmarking"pay awards.Theres a lot of happy people out there.And the only Trade Unions left ,with a fistful of clients, represent them. There is nobody listening to the voices of the underdogs any more.... Jesus must have known how it was.... he was all alone ,at the end.
He,s probably behind you...Bertie and Mary ,dont give a ****,thats for sure!Hang in there,Dave ,you are not alone...maybe next election ,the good people will answer them.We must all work for the good cause.nobody said it was going to be easy.
For f***s sake, sounds like somebody has a Messiah complex.
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