Prisoner on life-support after Mountjoy attack

A PRISONER is on life-support following an attack by three inmates in Mountjoy.

Sources confirmed to the Irish Daily Mail that Robert O’Connor, 34, of Dublin, was attacked just days after being sentenced to a six-and-a-half year term for possession of a loaded weapon.

However, he has been in prison for a number of months in relation to a previous offence.

The 34-year-old suffered serious head injuries in the assault and has been placed on a ventilator in the Mater hospital.

Although the cell in which O’Connor was attacked has no CCTV, Garda investigators are trawling through footage of the landing and other parts of the prison to establish who carried out the attack.

The prisoner had previously been the subject of a threat assessment and had been moved to a different part of the prison.

The reason for the attack is still under investigation, but is believed to be connected with a drug debt or to the botched gun delivery that O’Connor was jailed for.

Gardaí are investigating whether it was ordered from outside of the prison.

O’Connor was sentenced on Wednesday for possession of a semi-automatic pistol in Finglas on October 13, 2021. The pistol had three rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber.

The court had heard O’Connor and another man had abandoned their vehicle on the N2 and were caught after a short chase by gardaí down the North Road in Finglas.

O’Connor was seen to have a shopping bag, which had two jackets, two pairs of gloves, two face masks and the gun.

He had said that he was carrying the gun because he was ‘in fear of my life’.

Originally sentenced to nine years, Judge Martin Nolan reduced it to six-and-a-half years due to the defendant’s guilty plea, his co-operation with investigating gardaí and his willingness to reform his behaviour.

A Garda spokesman told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘Gardaí are investigating a serious assault on a man in his 30s that occurred on the evening of Friday July 29, 2022, at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.

‘The man is currently receiving treatment for serious injuries at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.

‘The scene has been technically examined and an incident room has been established at Mountjoy Garda Station. Investigations into this matter are ongoing.’