How alleged ‘mob boss’ Daniel Kinahan fears for his life inside infamous prison where lag was stabbed 16 times & torched

WITH Deliveroo-style weapons drops, three attempted breakouts with explosives and a booze-fuelled attack involving an inmate being set on fire, Portlaoise Prison in Ireland has a fearsome reputation. Yet this will be the new home for alleged mob boss Daniel Kinahan while awaiting trial after his sensational extradition from Dubai to Ireland – and we can reveal extraordinary measures have been taken at every step to ensure he remains behind bars. Daniel Kinahan is locked up in Portlaoise Prison An Irish Government plane carrying Daniel Kinahan landed at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell on Saturday Credit: PA Authorities, likely fearing attempts to break him free, escorted him to court from the midlands lock-up in a bomb and bullet-proof van, swept the building for bombs and deployed snipers to stakeout the area. Kinahan, 49, will be held in seclusion for his own safety in Ireland’s most secure cell block, which has heavy reinforced doors, screened visitors bays and around-the-clock monitoring – yet on the landing lies extremely dangerous lags. Among the 226 fellow inmates are Daniel Murtagh, who killed his ex Nadine Lott in such a vicious attack an intensive care nurse said she had never seen such horrific injuries – which were described as “extreme and grotesque” and “most dreadful” in court. There is Benjamin Morrisey, who has almost 80 convictions including for a 2021 horrific scissors attack on a woman and allegedly sliced a prison officer from his lip to his chin just last year with a ‘shiv’ – a homemade weapon. Then there’s a whole host of other bad actors – ranging from cartel bosses to paramilitary enforcers and cop killer Aaron Brady, who, while fuelled on prison moonshine ‘hooch’, managed to stab a rival thug 16 times and set him on fire drawing a prison brawl. Kinahan, who faces an all-encompassing charge for allegedly directing a criminal organisation while overseas in the United Arab Emirates, has acknowledged the risk to his life and recently told the High Court: “I think we know I won’t be getting bail.” Shortly before in a voicemail to podcaster James English, he insisted if he dies in prison it would not be of his own doing, stating: “If I end up hanging myself, killing myself, poisoning myself, it didn’t happen. I’m not suicidal.” There will be no Michelin-star dining or luxury suites on A-Block, like during Kinahan’s previous life of luxury in the UAE and, if found guilty he faces 30 years behind bars. His hearing is set for November. To make room for the alleged crime boss, Gerard Cruise, serving a seven-year sentence for his logistical role in the run up and after the murder of Drogheda teenager Keane Mulready Woods in 2020, was moved out of a cell. Located on Unit 4 of A-block, it was “refreshed” with a lick of paint and cleaning. His cell is no bigger than the box room of a house and is fitted with a TV. He will have access to a small room with dumbbells for exercise and a small selection of books. Prison sources told us despite the “obvious security issues”, Kinahan is mixing with others on the landing and added: “He’s in much better surroundings than he would have experienced in a Dubai prison.” Kinahan was extradited to Ireland after a decade in the UAE after authorities became aware of an arrest warrant issued by the Special Criminal Court. He lost two appeals against being returned to his native land prior to being placed on a Government jet this Sunday. Portlaoise Prison has a notorious reputation, having held some of Ireland’s most dangerous prisons. Notorious INLA godfather Dessie ‘The Border Fox’ – who chopped off two of dentist John O’Grady’s fingers during a horrific kidnapping in the 1980s – was locked up in the jail for five years until his release in 2024. The former terror boss became one of Ireland’s most feared figures in 1987 after he was part of a gang — which also included Declan ‘Whacker’ Duffy — who held ­security worker Martin Byrne captive and attacked John Roche in Saggart, Dublin, on June 9, 2015. Dominic ‘Mad Dog’ McGlinchey who claimed to have killed 31 people, including a child, during The Troubles, was locked up in Portlaoise Prison after holding two unarmed gardai prisoner and stripping them of their uniforms in Co Leitrim in 1977. Kinahan (back, right) leaving the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin after being remanded in custody Credit: PA Kinahan was brought to Portlaoise by Gardai who drove in a convoy of BMWs Credit: PA He was released from the jail in 1982, having nearly served five years. Gangland criminal John Gilligan made the most of his time locked up in Portlaoise Prison. Footage from 2006 shows Gilligan laughing, joking and dancing alongside some of Ireland’s most dangerous criminals in his cell. John Daly, who was in prison for armed robbery and who famously phoned RTE’s radio show ‘Liveline’ from a mobile phone in his prison cell also featured in the footage. Daly, who was jailed for his part in the armed hold-up of a service station on the Finglas Road in 1999, was shot dead in 2007. Brian Rattigan, the leader of one of the gangs involved in the notorious Crumlin/Drimnagh feud, could also be seen dancing with Gilligan in the shocking video that sparked great embarrassment. It resulted in over 1,000 pieces of contraband being confiscated in cell searches. And just last year, The Irish Sun revealed how lags were able to access “Deliveroo-style” drop offs of weapons, drugs and miniature mobile phones after duping the building’s systems. Prisons lit paper on fire to create smoke, which saw the automatic opening of its ventilation system and allowed drones to directly fly into C-block. A prison source told us the plot was “ingenious” They added: “The fact of the matter is, it needs to be stamped out because contraband is causing utter mayhem in the whole system – there’s drugs and weapons everywhere among very dangerous and highly volatile individuals.” That same year Nathan McDonnell, serving a 12-year stint for his role in Ireland’s biggest ever crystal meth importation, worth £27m, suffered a broken jaw for refusing to move drugs in Portlaoise’s laundry. Additionally, there have been mass prison breakouts. Most were cunning calculated plans involving explosions, hijacked vehicles and violence to achieve their ends – especially during The Troubles. An armed military officer standing guard at a gate of Casement Aerodrome as Kinahan’s plane landed Credit: EPA Portlaoise Prison has held some of Ireland’s most violent criminals Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd In 1974, IRA member Kevin Mallon staged a mass breakout at Portlaoise. This photo shows soldiers foraging through thick undergrowth and a water-filled ditch during the hunt for the escapees Credit: Alamy The scene of the escape after the prisoners blasted out the doorway, seen in centre, broke through the fence on right, and ran through gardens of nearby houses to escape Credit: Alamy In 1973, the IRA used a hijacked helicopter in an escape which saw the aircraft land in an exercise yard in Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison – leading to republican prisoners being transferred to Portlaoise. Three senior IRA members – Seamus Twomey, Kevin Mallon, and J.B. O’Hagan – boarded and flew away in under a minute before they were later recaptured and sent to Portlaoise Prison. Mallon and 18 others later staged a mass breakout at Portlaoise Prison in 1974. The inmates overpowered guards, used smuggled explosives to blast through interior and exterior perimeter walls, hijacked vehicles on the Borris Road, and scattered. The escapees were arrested over the following months and years. In a separate major incident, Irish Army soldiers, who took up their post at the prison in 1973 after the daring helicopter escape, freed prison officers held hostage in 1974. In 1975, IRA man Tom Smith was shot by the Defence Forces in an escape attempt that saw him use explosives to breach a door. In 1985, IRA prisoners attempted a mass breakout – but it failed when explosives failed to breach a special steel gate blocking the final exit. The facility operates under a permanent Air Exclusion Zone, prohibiting any aircraft from entering the airspace to prevent aerial break-ins or escape plots Credit: Kenneth O'Halloran – The Sun Dublin Measures were introduced to stop drones delivering drugs or phones to inmates (file photo) Credit: Getty For over five decades, Portlaoise Prison was the only prison in Ireland guarded 24/7 by the Irish Defence Forces. But this ended in 2024 after a threat assessment found risk to be minimal. The facility operates under a permanent Air Exclusion Zone, prohibiting any aircraft from entering the airspace to prevent aerial break-ins or escape plots. And high-strength yard netting designed to resist fire-bombing and cutting is in place to intercept drop-ins or contraband attempts after drones attempted to deliver drugs and phones to locked up lags. Ahead of Kinahan’s high profile arrival at Portaloise, Irish Prison Service boss Caron McCaffrey said they had a “strong history in terms of dealing with different ­categories of prisoners”. They continue to keep all of their security measures under review and specific plans in place to deal with the “major gang members” in their custody. Kinahan had been in custody at Dubai’s notorious Al-Awir Central Prison since his arrest on April 17. A former inmate of the horror jail previously told us the conditions are deplorable and how he witnessed killings while he was incarcerated there for 14 months. The Irishman, who asked not to be named, said the admissions process sees lags thrown into quarantine. He said: “It’s like something out of a horror movie. It’s just filled with graffiti. People have written Bible passages on the wall with soap bars. “If you refuse to shave your head for a period, you’re told you’re staying here. You don’t get fed for that 24 hours.” The former lag said prisoners are then moved from the holding cell to another building, where they are allocated a living space and handed a blanket. The cells are so overpacked, that many just sleep on the floor while some cons with status and wealth can often talk their way into getting onto the limited beds.