Facilities for education and the arts in prison are provided by the Prison Education Service, which consists of a partnership between the Irish Prison Service and a range of educational agencies from the community.
A number of programmes are co-funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, including the Writers in Prison scheme and the Visual artists in prisons scheme. Some information about the Prison Education Service is available on the IPS website.
News and media items on arts (music, drama, visual art) and sports in prison are included below.
Image taken from a gallery of artwork by prisoners.
22nd June 2010
Edmund Clark’s 'Still Life: Killing Time' captures in photographs the "slowness, the fabric and the accoutrements of prison life for elderly inmates."
9th June 2010
117 prisoners are sitting Leaving Cert exams, and 161 are taking Junior Certificate subjects in the exams which start today. Given the chronic conditions that many of our prisoners live in, this is truly an achievement...
1st June 2010
Erwin James reflects on his turning point in prison, the introduction to philosophy.
18th May 2010
A collaboration between the Eden Project and homeless people and prisoners is creating Chelsea's largest ever garden.
14th April 2010
The transformative power of theatre has been harnassed to provide a lifeline for some prisoners.
25th March 2010
A quilt hand-crafted by prisoners has taken pride of place in an exhibition at London's V&A museum.
24th February 2010
UK project 'Dance United' sees reduction in reoffending rates for those young people participating.
19th February 2010
Prisoners' Education Trust provides learning opportunities for offenders in custody to broaden their horizons and to focus on a more positive life on release.
19th February 2010
Landscape and literature are the tools of change for some young offenders in England.
16th February 2010
Even when offenders have the courage to undertake a course in prison, there are many barriers to overcome
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.