Daniel Kinahan, charged with directing an organised crime group between 2015 and 2017, is being held on remand in the maximum-security Portlaoise Prison as he awaits trial. The 49-year-old, extradited from Dubai, has transitioned from a lavish lifestyle to sharing quarters with some of Ireland's most dangerous criminals.
Reports suggest he occupies an entire section of the wing by himself, completely isolated from fellow prisoners on A Block. Guards at the nation's most fortified facility in County Laois are maintaining round-the-clock surveillance of the Dubliner, who is under constant suicide monitoring.
Kinahan is believed to remain confined to his cell for 20 hours daily. While he'll have access to television streaming platforms such as Netflix, he'll have ample opportunity to reflect on how his circumstances led to facing charges of running a criminal enterprise.
Notorious Inmates on the Same Corridor
Despite having his own wing to himself, there are several menacing individuals allegedly housed on the same corridor as him. This includes Andy Cash, who fatally stabbed his three siblings hundreds of times. The horrific assault occurred in Tallaght, Dublin, in 2022, where Lisa Cash, 18, and twin brother and sister, Christy and Chelsea Cawley, eight, tragically perished.
Also housed within the 200-year-old high-security jail are father-and-son Kenneth and Dean Fitzsimons, who uniquely amongst all inmates occupy their own shared cell. The duo are completing eight-year and eight-and-a-half-year terms respectively after an incident last year when a man was branded with the word "RAT" using a hot branding iron.
The victim was also battered, burned and stabbed during the horrific attack in Blanchardstown, Dublin, in February 2025. The victim, Barry Moore, subsequently stated: "My face and body are destroyed. They held me hostage and beat me for over one hour. I thought I would die several times. I hope these markings are not permanent."
Other High-Profile Prisoners
Portlaoise Prison also houses garda killer Aaron Brady, who was infamously involved in an alcohol-fuelled prison fight within the facility with a criminal called Sean Groome, who is completing a 15-year term after a man was stabbed 16 times and set alight. According to reports, Brady struck Groome before a major New Year's brawl broke out on the C4 landing in 2023.
One recognisable figure to Kinahan will be Sean McGovern, frequently described as his lieutenant. McGovern sustained injuries in the Regency Hotel shooting before becoming the first individual to be extradited to Ireland from the United Arab Emirates and subsequently admitted to directing a criminal organisation.
Despite his links to Kinahan, the pair are not anticipated to encounter each other behind bars. During his stay in Portlaoise, Kinahan will be permitted use of the gymnasium and exercise yard, though strictly in isolation. He is granted telephone privileges and visits, and recently issued an invitation to podcaster James English.
In one conversation, Kinahan suggested he might become a target, stating: "If I happen to fall and bang my head when I have handcuffs on me, I didn't fall. If I end up hanging myself, killing myself, poisoning myself, it didn't happen. I'm not suicidal." He will stand trial sometime next year after being charged with leading the Kinahan Organised Crime Group during a period when a vicious feud led to 18 killings.
