HM Prison Maghaberry is a high security prison near Lisburn, Northern Ireland, which opened in 1986. It was built on the site of RAF Maghaberry, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

used as a flying station by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and a transit airfield for the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. At the end of the war, the airfield was run down and was bought back from the Air Ministry in 1957 by Edward Thomas Boyes who then farmed it with his sons until the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

began work on the

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

in 1976. Mourne House, which held female prisoners, young offenders, and remands, was the first part to be opened, in March 1986. This followed the closure of the women's prison at HMP Armagh. The male part of the prison became fully operational on 2 November 1987. Following the closure of HMP Belfast on 31 March 1996, Maghaberry became the adult committal prison in Northern Ireland. Two new accommodation blocks were opened in 1999. In 2003, the Steele report recommended options to make Maghaberry safe, including "a degree of separation" for

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

and

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

inmates. Maghaberry is currently a high-security prison housing both adult male long-term sentenced and remand prisoners in both separated and integrated conditions. The prison holds 970 prisoners in a mix of single and double cell accommodation. In February 2016, a prison inspection report by the Northern Ireland Department of Justice condemned HMP Maghaberry as unsafe and unstable and lacking a correct insurance policy due to an ongoing dispute over land ownership, citing suicides and clashes between inmates and prison staff. His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales Nick Hardwick described the prison as "one of the worst prisons I've ever seen and the most dangerous prison I've been to"

Notable prisoners

* Colin Howell * Michael Stone * Robert Black

References

External links

Northern Ireland Prison Service official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maghaberry (Hm Prison) 1976 establishments in Northern Ireland Prisons in Northern Ireland Immigration detention centres and prisons in the United Kingdom