HM Prison Magilligan is a medium security prison run by the

Northern Ireland Prison Service The Northern Ireland Prison Service is the agency charged with managing prisons in Northern Ireland. It is an executive agency of the Department of Justice (Northern Ireland), Department of Justice, the headquarters of which are in Castle ...

situated near

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 11,279 people at the 2021 Census. In the 40 years between 1 ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

. It was first opened in January 1972 when 50

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 ...

internees were transferred from the prison ship HMS Maidstone. The camp was comprised eight

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...

s on the site of an army camp. The prison was divided into compounds to house the various

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

internees A civilian internee is a civilian detained by a belligerent to a war for security reasons. Internees are usually forced to reside in internment camps. Historical examples include internment of Japanese and German Americans in the United States dur ...

and was manned by

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

dog handlers and prison staff on detached duty from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

as well as some staff from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The temporary accommodation was later replaced by three H-blocks similar to those at the

Maze prison HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...

each containing 100 cells. In 1976 the prison wall was built and the prison began to house other prisoners who had been convicted of non-

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

offences as well some young prisoners including

Borstal A borstal is a type of youth detention centre. Such a detention centre is more commonly known as a borstal school in India, where they remain in use today. Until the late 20th century, borstals were present in the United Kingdom, several mem ...

trainees. In 1977 the trainees were transferred to Woburn House in

Millisle Millisle or Mill Isle (from Scots ''mill'' + ''isle'', meaning "the meadow of the mill") is a village on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about south of Donaghadee. It is situated in the townlands of Ballymacruise () ...

and prisoners convicted of scheduled terrorist offences transferred to the Maze. This left Magilligan operating as a 'normal' prison in the context of Northern Ireland prisons. The regime was consequently developed to reflect this. The prison currently has a Certified Normal Accommodation capacity of 568 prisoners. It is a medium to low security prison that held male prisoners who have six years or less to serve and who meet the relevant security classification. In fact, in 2017 Magilligan Prison proved to be the best performing jail in Northern Ireland according to an unannounced inspection by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) and her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons in England & Wales (HMIP).

References

External links

Northern Ireland Prison Service official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magilligan (Hm Prison) 1972 establishments in Northern Ireland Prisons in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Londonderry Internment camps during the Troubles (Northern Ireland)