Christmas nativity plays and carol singing will be back in Irish prisons this festive season following two years of being cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Prior to the pandemic, inmates were allowed to put on plays for other prisoners and visitors in December.
A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror how inmates will be delighted to have something to spend their days practising following two years of Covid rules.
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They will also get to enjoy some bingo and board games on Christmas Day.
But in some jails, inmates will not be able to take part in the carol singing and nativity plays as there is a lack of staff to monitor them while rehearsing.
The source said: “The plays that are normally put on in the prisons at Christmas are all finally back on.
“It’s great, it occupies inmates, especially in the run-up to Christmas when emotions can run high being away from loved ones.
“For the last two years prisoners were locked up in their cells during December and were not allowed to mingle on a large scale.
“At Christmas 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing, even in-person prisoner visits were cancelled.
“This move by prison bosses is likely to have a positive impact on inmates’ state of mind.”
This year, inmates will tuck into a typical festive dinner with all the trimmings.
They will start their day with a big fry-up including sausages, rashers and pudding, and then sit down for dinner at 12.30pm.
Soup will be followed by turkey and ham and all the trimmings including mash and Brussels sprouts, and Christmas pud – if they have any room left.
“You would be lucky to get such a feast on the outside,” added the source, who also revealed that murderer Joe O’Reilly used to be one of the chefs who cooked up dinner.
“He used to make the Christmas cake and the other inmates used to love it.”
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