Bishop Martin Hayes also claims he was very much misled by prison authorities over what he was told was to be the repurposing of part of the building that houses the chapel. The bishop says the move has meant prisoners' rights in terms of expression of their religion “have been suppressed by authorities”.
Noting that he is “alarmed” at the developments with the start of construction work to repurpose the chapel, he said this was being undertaken without appropriate consultation with prisoners or with the chaplains.
“This unilateral approach runs counter to maintaining harmonious and respectful relations in our prison community,” he said. “I can only conclude that, arising from the approach taken and speed of action, that prisoners’ rights in Mountjoy — in terms of their freedom of religious expression — have been suppressed by authorities.
As the holy season of Advent leading up to Christmas begins this Sunday, the timing of this decision is particularly poignant.
He confirmed there had been prior consultation with him in his capacity as liaison bishop to the prison service that some works would be undertaken involving the relocation of a bereavement suite but he says that at no point was he told that this would involve the cessation of use of the chapel to say mass.
He was told that "while the chapel would be reduced in space, nonetheless it would still facilitate accommodation of 96 people to gather for the celebration of mass into the future".
“I was further informed that the prison chaplains had yet to be advised of these proposals which were, at that point, still at a scoping stage. In other words, at no point was it suggested that the chapel space would be closed off for worship. This is now the case.”
On Tuesday, the Irish Examiner reported that the chapel, which has been in existence for over 150 years, had been closed by the prison to be used for other purposes due to overcrowding. The closure was done without any consultation with the prison chaplaincy and effectively ends the saying of mass for any prisoners who wish to avail of it.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) told the Irish Examiner that the work is due to commence on December 3, but sources in the prison confirmed it is already closed for the construction works.
The spokesperson said the repurposing of the chapel was to meet a requirement for video link capacity in the prison but that the works are only being carried out to the rear of the building “where a partition wall will be erected to isolate the construction area”. He said that the rest of the chapel will remain undisturbed during the works “with no impact on the altar or remaining space”.
The IPS intends the construction work will take eight weeks after which the chapel will again be available for masses, but a number of sources in the prison are highly sceptical that it will be possible to do so under the new conditions. Currently an average of 25 prisoners attend mass fortnightly in an arrangement with the Dublin archdiocese.
“I must emphasise that the exact starting date, and final details of the extent of these major works currently underway were not communicated to me,” Bishop Hayes said. “The prison chapel is consecrated ground and I intend to raise the Mountjoy Prison chapel case with the IPS Director General, Ms Caron McCaffrey, when we meet on Friday.”