Female film crew survives solitary in no-holds-barred show about prison
THE female film crew which made a documentary series about Ireland’s largest male prison joked they were going to die after being locked on a landing with no guards.
Director Aoife Kelleher said there were numerous violent occurrences where officers had to rush off while they were filming the Virgin Media One series about the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, Co Laois.
She revealed: “There were always incidents and one day we were locked on a landing where there were no officers.
“However, we were fortunate we were on the B3 landing which is for the best-behaved prisoners. My colleague Eleanor Bowman is an extraordinary camerawoman but she is only 5ft and I’m just 5ft 4in. Nobody would be hiring us for bodyguards.
“I remember saying to Eleanor, ‘I had a good innings!’ We joked that it could be the end.”
The third episode of Inside Ireland’s Largest Prison: True Lives airs on Wednesday on Virgin Media One at 9pm.