A woman in her early thirties was found dead in her cell in the women's prison at Mountjoy last night - and a second woman had to be revived after she was found hanging in her cell.
The woman who died was from the Donnycarney area of north Dublin. She was found unconscious in her cell by a prison officer between 10.30 and 11 p.m., hanging by the end of the bed in her single cell.
The woman, who was serving a six-month sentence for a syringe attack, was rushed to the Mater Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Her name has not yet been released.
Shortly afterwards a female remand prisoner was also found hanging in her cell. Prison staff managed to revive her and she was admitted to the Mater Hospital for observation.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said all prisoners were checked on a regular basis throughout the night. The Suicide Prevention Group, comprising prison and medical services, "will examine all aspects of the death in custody and whatever steps need to be taken, they will recommend them," he said.
There were four prison deaths between January 1st and August 15th last year, two of them self-inflicted and two from natural causes. This compared to nine deaths in prison in 1996 and six in 1997, which included the triple murderer Brendan O'Donnell and convicted child abuser Brendan Smyth.