The Free State Prison System

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THE FREE STATE PRISON SYSTEM. Kilkenny Jail. Since the murder of Sean Edwards here on August 19th, the public have gleaned some interesting details of the tragic occurrence, and have heard something of the treatment which the prisoners were undergoing previously. Now, as during the Black and Tan regime, all news containing any vestige of truth is heavily censored, and in true British fashion the publicity agents of the military junta circulate the most absurd and lying theories of every occurrence which takes place in jail, and outside, of course. But truth has a happy knack of fizzling through, and in spite of the censor, the muzzling of the Press, and the lying PROPAGANDA OF CHURCHILL'S PUPPETS, we hope in this article to enlighten the public on the subject of our incarceration and the criminal treatment which accompanies it. The evidence contained herein can be testified to on oath by 270 prisoners, men whose sense of honour and faithfulness is the cause of their imprisonment. In "A" Wing, 120 of the men are soldiers of the Waterford Brigade who resisted the attack on the City and 15 belong to No. 3 Column of the Kilkenny Brigade who were arrested at Windgap. In "B" Wing are 140 soldiers of the Irish Republic from Kilkenny, Wexford, Leix, Offaly and Tipperary Brigades, men who have resisted many an onslaught from England's might and who have also defended the Republic from the new oppressor. Since the occupation of the prison the prisoners have been denied the privilege of a visit, and parcels handed in at the gate, if taken, have been robbed of their contents or confiscated altogether in many instances. Sums of money sent by friends have been missed on several occasions. The amount robbed in this fashion is considerable and complaints are always treated with contempt. In consequence of this, the practice of sending money has been dropped for some time, much to the loss and disappointment of the prisoners and more so the guard. The quality and quantity of the food served would take an amount of time and trouble to describe. Meat fit for consumption only in a kennel, black and hard as Kilkenny Marble, evidently reeking with disease when alive, the germs of which stifle the atmosphere with a foul odour, is the principal item for dinner. Green herbage, believed by some to be an uncommon variety of cabbage in which every known species of the insect world is represented, making a very appropriate companion for the meat and both with unwashed hard potatoes comprise the principal meal. The beverage known as "Tea," with an insufficient allowance of bread and butter, is served in the morning at 8 a.m., and in the evening at 4.30 p.m., after which the sickening agonies of meal hours are ended. Several complaints have been addressed to the Governor, and the meals have been sent back, without result. The apparent idea is of course to compel the prisoners to supply their own food, and this is in practice to a large extent in the prison. On Fridays the dinn…