A former prisoner who claimed prison officers beat him up while he visited a friend in Mountjoy, has lost a £30,000 damages claim for alleged assault.
Judge Harvey Kenny held that John Sugg, Norse Road, Finglas, Dublin, had been manhandled by prison officers and, of necessity, propelled through the front doors of the prison.
He agreed with Mr Roderick O'Hanlon, counsel for the State, that Sugg had brought it upon himself. He had entered the prison under a false name knowing that as a former prisoner, he would require the governor's permission to do so. He had then passed an envelope to the prisoner, breaking the regulations.
Sugg told the court the envelope contained a birthday card which he was handing to the prisoner so he could sign it for his son. He claimed prison officers jumped over the division between prisoners and visitors and punched and kicked him. They had carried him out of the prison and dropped him on the ground.
"Things could have got out of hand if the prison officers had not moved quickly," Judge Kenny said. "I accept they would have had to handle him severely but I do not think, in the circumstances, they were excessive in what they did." He ordered Sugg to pay the legal costs of the State.