Out of sight, out of mind: Irish prisoners in England and Wales

In 2007 the Department of Foreign Affairs published a report on Irish Prisoners abroad (Flood, 2007) which identified between 800 and 1,000 Irish citizens incarcerated in prisons overseas. This report was one of the first pieces of research undertaken on the topic of Irish prisoners overseas. Since its publication there has been a dearth of further research. This paper is based on a presentation given at the 13th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology in 2013. It considers the position of Irish prisoners in prisons in England and Wales. It provides a statistical analysis of these prisoners as well as examining them in the context of the overall prison population and as a sub-group of the foreign national prison population.Statistical data on gender, offences and sentences is considered.1The position of Irish Travellers in the prison system in England and Wales is examined, and services available to Irish prisoners are considered. The need for further study and research on the experience of Irish prisoners in custody in England and Wales is highlighted