A prison officer was being treated in hospital today after being beaten about the head in a unprovoked attack in a Dublin prison.
The incident occurred in Cloverhill Prison yesterday afternoon when an inmate attempted to access a landing area he was barred from entering.
The man had carried a kettle out of his cell which is not permitted under prison rules, before attacking three officers who tried to block his path.
The inmate battered one of the officers around the head and face with the kettle before two others came to his assistance.
One officer was taken to Tallaght Hospital for treatment and detained overnight, he is believed to have suffered a broken nose.
Two others who were injured, one bitten on the hand, were discharged after treatment.
A Prison Service spokesperson said that the governor of Cloverhill is awaiting a report on the incident and a full investigation will take place.
The prisoner has had a range of privileges withdrawn for two months and gardai have been informed, the spokesperson said.
PA