Portlaoise Prison is the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

's only high security prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

. It is located in Portlaoise, County Laois

County Laois

County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...

. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison

Midlands Prison

The Midlands Prison is closed, medium security prison in Portlaoise, Co. Laois. It receives prisoners who are aged 17 years and over. It has a bed capacity of 516 and its daily average number of inmates resident in 2009 was 512.-History:...

, which is a newer, medium security prison situated directly beside it.

The prison was built in the 1830s, making it one of the oldest still operating today in the Irish prison system. It is particularly notable as the prison in which people convicted of membership of the Provisional Irish Republican Army

Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 (IRA) and other illegal paramilitary organisations are usually detained.

Today the majority of the inmates are Ireland's most dangerous criminals, members of dangerous drug gangs, and criminals serving life sentences for serious crime.