HMP Magilligan is a medium security prison run by the Northern Ireland Prison Service situated near Limavady, County Londonderry. It was first opened in May 1972 and comprised eight

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of Corrugated galvanised iron, corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British ...

s on the site of an army camp. The prison was divided into compounds to house the various paramilitary factions and was manned by

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

dog handlers and prison staff on detached duty from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

as well as some staff from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The temporary accommodation was later replaced by three H-blocks similar to those at the

Maze prison Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sep ...

each containing 100 cells. In 1976 the prison wall was built and the prison began to house other prisoners who had been convicted of non-

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

offences as well some young prisoners including

Borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

trainees. In 1977 the trainees were transferred to Woburn House in

Millisle Millisle or Mill Isle (from Scots ''mill'' + ''isle'', meaning "the meadow of the mill") is a village on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about south of Donaghadee. It is situated in the townlands of Ballymacruise () ...

and prisoners convicted of scheduled terrorist offences transferred to the Maze. This left Magilligan operating as a 'normal' prison in the context of Northern Ireland prisons. The regime was consequently developed to reflect this. The prison currently has a Certified Normal Accommodation capacity of 568 prisoners. It is a medium to low security prison that held male prisoners who have six years or less to serve and who meet the relevant security classification. In fact, in 2017 Magilligan Prison proved to be the best performing jail in Northern Ireland according to an unannounced inspection by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) and her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons in England & Wales (HMIP).

References

External links

Northern Ireland Prison Service official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magilligan (Hm Prison) 1972 establishments in Northern Ireland Prisons in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Londonderry Internment camps during the Troubles (Northern Ireland)