Liam Lawlor slipped unnoticed into Mountjoy Prison yesterday. Travelling in a Wexford-registered Toyota Carina, he entered by the St Patrick's Institution gate, in good time for his 2 p.m. appointment. The 20 or so journalists, photographers and cameramen waiting for him around the corner at the main prison entrance were disappointed at 12.25 p.m. when they got the news that the beginning of Mr Lawlor's week-long prison sentence had happened without them.
Just one photographer had the St Patrick's entrance staked out and he managed to get a picture of the TD's suitcases.
With media crews assembled early yesterday morning at the Four Courts, at Mr Lawlor's home in Lucan, at his legal team's offices in Church Street, at Lucan Garda station as well as at Mountjoy Prison, word went around at about 10.30 a.m. that he would be arriving at Mountjoy at 11 a.m. "to avoid the media".
The 11th hour came and went, calls were made to the crews in Lucan and word spread that he had indeed left the house.
Some speculated as to whether he might be on his way to the Supreme Court to lodge an appeal, though it was pointed out that his legal representatives, Mr John Rogers and Mr Patrick MacEntee, were both in court arguing other cases.
Then one photographer ran towards the side road into St Patrick's Institution with the news: "He's in. He's gone in up here."
A prison guard explained there was a gate between St Patrick's and the main men's prison, though it was, he added, "very unusual" for prisoners to arrive through this entrance. Earlier, Mr Lawlor's car was driven towards the entrance, though only his driver was in it.
Mr Lawlor is due for release at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. He will be released through the main gate, according to a prison spokesman.
