Imprisoned dads at Maghaberry have special Christmas gift for children

Imprisoned dads at Maghaberry will have a very special gift delivered to their children for Christmas this year.

Personal recordings of the classic Christmas story ‘The Night Before Christmas’, read by the dads, along with an illustrated storybook for them to follow the reading, will form part of a Christmas parcel for families of serving prisoners

The project, supported by the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO) and Mothers Union, is to assist prisoners’ families across Northern Ireland during the festive season.

Pictured with one of the prisoner dads recording the story are Maghaberry Prison Governor David Savage, and Senior Officer Anita Payne

Ronnie Armour, Director General of the Prison Service said, “I want to pay tribute to NIACRO and the Mothers Union. We greatly appreciate their efforts to support people in our care and their families.

“The Northern Ireland Prison Service recognises the importance of positive family connections and actively supports family contact where possible and appropriate. By focusing on children, who are often significantly affected by parental imprisonment, and encouraging them to move away from re-offending, we know positive changes can ultimately lead to better lives.”

David Savage, Governor of Maghaberry Prison, said: “Christmas is a special time of year for families and this is an opportunity for us to support those in our care who are not able to share that time together. We are committed to doing everything we can at Maghaberry to maintain family relationship and this project provides an excellent opportunity to do so.”

Mandy Corr, NIACRO, said: “In the run up to Christmas, dads in Maghaberry have recorded this classic Christmas verse, which is well known to every parent and child preparing for Christmas. It will be a very special present for children to hear their dad read them a story on Christmas Day.”

Prison Governor David Savage, Senior Officer Anita Payne, Clare Stewart, Mothers Union Trustee and Brigid Murray, NIACRO

Clare Stewart, Mothers Union Trustee, said: “The project is very much in line with our vision which is to promote conditions in society favourable to stable family life and the protection of children.”

Notes to editors: 

PHOTO CAPTIONS:  01: Imprisoned dads at Maghaberry have made personal recordings of the classic Christmas verse ‘The Night Before Christmas’ as part of a festive parcel for families of serving prisoners. The scheme, supported by NIACRO and Mothers Union is to assist prisoners’ families across Northern Ireland during the festive season. Pictured is one of the prisoner dads recording his story.

02: Imprisoned dads at Maghaberry have made personal recordings of the classic Christmas verse ‘The Night Before Christmas’ as part of a festive parcel for families of serving prisoners. The scheme, supported by NIACRO and Mothers Union is to assist prisoners’ families across Northern Ireland during the festive season. Pictured with one of the prisoner dads recording the story are Maghaberry Prison Governor David Savage, and Senior Officer Anita Payne

03: Imprisoned dads at Maghaberry have made personal recordings of the classic Christmas verse ‘The Night Before Christmas’, as part of a festive parcel for families of serving prisoners. The scheme, supported by NIACRO and Mothers Union, is to assist prisoners’ families across Northern Ireland during the festive season. Pictured with some of the gifts are Maghaberry Prison Governor David Savage, Senior Officer Anita Payne, Clare Stewart, Mothers Union Trustee and Brigid Murray, NIACRO.

1. Maghaberry Prison is the only Category ‘A’ prison in Northern Ireland and also operates as a remand prison for all adult male prisoners in the country. It accommodates a range of sentenced prisoners such as life sentence, indeterminate and extended custody prisoners, separated prisoners, fine defaulters and civil prisoners
2. Media enquiries should be directed to the Department of Justice Press Office via Email
3. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

Share this page