Taxpayer forks over €200,000 for prison officers to guard 'braindead' killer

Irish Daily Mirror

a day ago

The taxpayer has forked over at least €200,000 to keep three prison officers guarding a 'braindead' killer in hospital, we can reveal.
Prison bosses are understood to be hoping that a pending court hearing for brutal killer Kearney, who has over 120 previous convictions, is struck out - so that officers no longer have to guard him in hospital 24 hours a day - and because his release date has technically already passed.
Kearney (39) from Coultry Drive, Ballymun, who served a sentence for manslaughter, was due to be released from jail within weeks before he was attacked in the yard of Dublin's Mountjoy Prison in a brutal attack that left him in a critical condition on June 6th.
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Sources have now confirmed that Kearney first initiated an attack on a fellow lag in the exercise yard - before four prisoners overpowered him and brutally attacked him - leaving him for dead. Three of the suspected attackers have since been moved to multiple prisons across the country - while gardai continue to investigate the horrific assault.
Now sources have told this paper that Kearney is 'braindead' and has no prospect of recovering or returning to prison. He also has no real prospect of appearing before the courts again - with a barrister previously telling a court in July that his client was seriously ill in hospital. Mountjoy Prison (file photo) (Image: Collins Photo Agency) Inside Mountjoy prison (Image: The Joy on TV3)
Despite that the Irish Prison Service remains tasked with monitoring the killer - with three prison officers sitting with him in hospital - 24 hours a day. Sources say that equates to at least €200,000 of State money that has been paid to keep prison officers on escort with Kearney over the past two months- despite there being no real need for them to be there.
'It's a huge waste,' a source said. Obviously the prison officers are bound by their duty to provide an escort for a prisoner like Kearney while he technically remains in custody. But in this case he is critically ill, and in reality only really remains in custody because the courts haven't fully dealt with him yet.'A Judge was last due to hear arguments in relation to the reactivation of a suspended portion of Kearney's sentence. He had served a nine year sentence for the manslaughter of Francis Gallagher (18) at Coultry Road on October 25, 2004.Gallagher received head injuries and bruises and cuts to his face after a sustained attack where Kearney punched him in the face and kicked him six times in the head. He also stamped on the victim's head and kicked him in the sides and ribs.
In 2020 Kearney was jailed again for a year after he robbed a shop - and before the attack was facing a hearing over possibly re-activating suspended portions of his sentence.
Now sources have confirmed that all four suspected culprits have been identified and have been subjected to P19 punishment behind bars. It has also emerged that Kearney struck first - cornering a prisoner with a weapon - before he was then set upon himself. Sources say four lags turned on Kearney and overpowered him in the yard. He was brutally beaten in the yard and left in a critical condition - where he was then rushed to Dublin's Beaumont Hospital with horrific head injuries. He is understood to be in a coma and is in a grave condition, with no real prospect of recovery.
Gardai continue to investigate the savage assault - which has also been linked to an ongoing row within the prison. The Irish Prison Service said it cannot comment on individual cases. Gardai have not returned a comment before this article went to print.
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