Judge says lack of holding space at Portlaoise Courthouse is ‘wholly unsatisfactory’

 A Circuit Court Judge described the prisoner accommodation situation at Portlaoise Courthouse as ‘wholly unsatisfactory’. 

Judge Keenan Johson was speaking at Portlaoise Circuit Court where convicted murderer Frederick Thompson (44) was seeking to have a trial moved to Dublin as he doesn’t believe Portlaoise Courthouse can offer adequate security.

Thompson, who has an address, care of the Midlands Prison, last week told a sitting of the court that he believes he could be “shot dead” if he is tried at Portlaoise Circuit Court. 

He is alleged to have threatened to kill or cause serious harm to a prison officer at Portlaoise Prison, Dublin Road, Portlaoise on May 18, 2022.  He is further charged with threatening to kill or cause serious harm to the same officer and assaulting the officer causing harm at Portlaoise Prison on November 17, 2022. 

Judge Johnson noted he had applied to have the trial moved last summer on the grounds that he wouldn’t get a fair trial. Judge Johnson said it would have been “more desirable” for the defendant to have raised his concerns about his security at that stage. 

He noted the defendant had “expressed serious concerns for his personal safety” due to his connection with the Kinahan Hutch feud. 

The defendant had argued that he had to walk to the court from the prison van and would be vulnerable as a result. Judge Keenan noted the argument that this was "highlighted by the media’s ability to get up close to him” when he exited the prison van on a previous occasion. 

“He makes the point that there are no checks and balances in the courthouse,” said Judge Johnson. 

The defendant argued that at the Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin he would be driven directly into the court complex and that there are checks on people entering the building. 

Judge Keenan noted Detective Garda Padraic Ryan had stated that the defendant had been in Portlaoise Courthouse on three occasions without any issue. 

He noted the garda accepted that Hutch gunmen had previously dressed as members of An Garda Siochana. 

He said William Fennelly BL had stated that he wasn’t aware of any security incident at the courthouse. 

Judge Keenan said he was satisfied with the security at the courthouse but he noted the defendant has concerns about having to “run the gauntlet" from the prison van through a public area to the courthouse. 

In light of this, Judge Keenan acknowledged that “it might be more appropriate to move the trial to Tullamore.” The more modern courthouse in Tullamore has direct access for prison vans. 

Judge Keennan was critical of the capacity to hold prisoners in Portlaoise and he noted that prisoners often had to be held in prison vans parked outside the courthouse due to the lack of space, something he deemed “wholly unsatisfactory”. 

He said the sooner a new courthouse is built in Portlaoise the better. The defendant appeared at the courthouse via videolink and didn’t speak during the brief appearance. 

Judge Johnson said the defendant could move the case  to Tullamore if he wanted. He said the defendant could consider the matter and he would make a final decision on February 27.