A team of Mountjoy inmates could soon be making a Gaa-reat escape for a day to play a Gaelic football match at a high profile GAA venue against their prison guards.
The hope is the lags versus prison officers 'Battle of the Joy' showdown will be played in December and it will be streamed live on the internet so all the other inmates at the famous prison can see it.
The idea for the match has been mooted by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, the General Director of the Irish Prison Service, Caron Caffrey and the Mountjoy Prison Governor Eddie Mullins to improve relations between inmates and prison staff.
It will be like the smash hit Hollywood movie The Longest Yard where prisoners played staff in an American football game.
An email outlining the plan was circulated to prison officers in the last few days asking them to try and put a team together.
Dublin football legend Philly McMahon works with groups of prisoners every week in Mountjoy improving their fitness and helping them overcome their drug addiction.
The eight-time All-Ireland winning medalists also sometimes coaches them on Gaelic football and they practise in the prison yard since they haven’t got a pitch.
The down-to-earth gym owner lost his own older brother John to drug addiction a decade ago and has been helping addicts ever since.
He regularly gives Mountjoy prisoners what he calls “half-time team talks” to try and help them change their lives.
It is hoped Ballymun native McMahon will manage the prisoners team.
The prison officers themselves have mixed feelings about playing the match.
A source said: “We have a large number of prison officers who play Gaelic football. However there are mixed feelings about it. Some feel we should be having a match against the victims of crime, not the prisoners, while others think it is a positive move and a bit of fun.
“Our union, the Prison Officers Association, have advised that it is up to individual prison officers to volunteer if they want to play the game.
“I suppose the worry is there is some bad blood between certain prisoners and some of the staff. You would not like to see that rearing its ugly head on the pitch.
“I suspect that what we would regard as high risk violent dangerous inmates would be prohibited from playing on the prisoners' team.
“The management thinks the match is a great idea, so I suspect it will go ahead.
“I know the prisoners have a great time and respect for Philly McMahon and the work he does. It would be a big boost for prisoners to actually play a game."
The Irish Prison Service confirmed that a new 12-week Gaelic football programme is to commence at Mountjoy Progressive Unit which will be recorded for broadcast on national TV.
It is understood as part of it they hope to have a game between prisoners and the wardens.
The organisers would like the match at a top venue and are speaking to the GAA, but nothing is confirmed yet.
The IPS said: ”The project will involve a number of young men who have been committed to custody on sentence from different backgrounds and for different reasons and aims to engage with the young men to help them on their rehabilitation journey in prison.
“The project is the creation of of well-known Dublin football player Philly McMahon, who has been working with prisoner in Mountjoy Prison for a number of years.
“Philly is joined on the project by comedian and mental health activist Rory O'Connor.
“Over 12 weeks they will teach the men the essential life skills such as leadership, teamwork, self belief and the value of work.
“The project will also look at the wider social issues and the root causes that see young men from certain communities over represented in prison.
“For the prisoners, this opportunity will allow them to show their families and the wider community what they can achieve with the right support and mentorship and (we) hope to demonstrate the redemptive power of sport and the roles compassion, resilience and second chances can play in changing lives and making communities safer.”
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