The top security prison in the Irish Republic housed prisoners who had committed offenses related to troubles in the North of Ireland. In the 1970's, several escapes occurred and the national government, especially Great Britain, saw the Irish Republic as soft on terrorism (or crime). The message to prison management was clear, these men were to be kept inside whatever the cost, or otherwise. The prison regime became punitive and systems were put in place to achieve iron-grip control. This atmosphere of oppression and suppression often exploded in violence. The tight control caused incessant conflict. In 1984 education was introduced formally and slowly. Education was introduced as a broad-based program with a wide range of options to the learner. In order for the education model to be implemented and safety to be guaranteed, a major shift to a more normal prison set-up had to take place. Three areas of the curriculum played a vital part in normalizing the prison regime; the creative arts, physical education, and the Visiting Speakers’ Program. Inmates now had another common bond, other than the paramilitary activities. The greatest impact of the education program was on the prison-officer relationship. It was an unwritten rule in classes that inmates did not talk in disparaging terms about officers. Officers saw inmates being treated as normal human beings and inmates responding accordingly. After 1985, the year education was introduced in the prison there were no more attempted escapes. References