A team of Mountjoy inmates could soon be getting out of prison for the day to play a football match against their guards.
The hope is the lags versus prison officers Battle of the Joy showdown will be played in December at a high-profile GAA venue – and it will be streamed live so other inmates can see it. The idea for the match has been mooted by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, the General Director of the Irish Prison Service Caron Caffrey, and the Mountjoy Prison Governor Eddie Mullins to improve relations between inmates and prison staff.
It will be like the smash hit Hollywood movie The Longest Yard where prisoners played staff in an American football game. An email outlining the plan was circulated to prison officers days asking them to try and put a team together.
