A prisoner who killed a man by stomping on his head is today fighting for his life in hospital, while a second convicted killer sustained a broken jaw in unrelated and savage attacks in Irish prisons.

Man due for release in weeks was set upon by four inmates in exercise yard

Stephen Kearney was attacked in an exercise yard at Mountjoy Prison. Stephen Kearney (39) from Coultry Drive, Ballymun – who had been due to be released from Mountjoy Prison later this month – was set upon by four inmates in an exercise yard in the prison on Friday evening.

Sources say the attack is believed to be linked to a row among prisoners. Kearney is currently being treated at Beaumont Hospital where it’s understood he is in a critical condition.

Mountjoy Prison

In a statement, a spokesperson for the IPS confirmed: “The Irish Prison Service can confirm that an incident occurred at Mountjoy Prison on June 6 involving a prisoner. The incident has been referred to An Garda Síochána.”

Kearney is extremely well known to Gardaí having clocked up in excess of 120 convictions over the past 20 years. His most serious conviction, for manslaughter, dates from October 2004 for which he received a nine-year sentence in May 2006. Kearney, then aged 20, admitted to killing Francis Gallagher (18) at Coultry Road on October 25, 2004.

His victim had extensive head injuries, including bruising and swelling to his brain, bruises and cuts to his face and a fractured cheek bone. His skull was intact and there was no evidence of a weapon having been used.

Kearney later admitted to gardaí he had attacked Mr Gallagher, saying he punched him in the face which sent him to the ground and then kicked him six times in the head. He also admitted to stamping on his victim’s head and kicking him in the sides and the ribs. His trial heard Kearney was very remorseful. He had tried to commit suicide at the Garda station. After his release from prison, Kearney continued to offend. In 2020, he was jailed for a year after he robbed a shop.

Around the same time Kearney was attacked in Mountjoy, and in an unrelated attack, convicted killer Darren Murphy (47) was set upon on the A2 landing in the Midlands as he was making his way to dinner.

Murphy is serving life for the murder of his partner Olivia Dunlea, who he stabbed six times in the neck and left to die in a burning house. The brute had been in a relationship with Olivia for just 16 weeks when he killed her in 2013. His victim was mother to two boys and a daughter who were aged nine, ten and 12 at the time of her death.

A source said the attack on Murphy on A2 on Friday evening resulted in the killer sustaining a broken jaw. “He wouldn’t say who attacked him,” a source told the Sunday World. “The likelihood is someone took it upon themselves to dish out their own brand of justice for what he did to that poor woman.”

Source: Sunday World.