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United Kingdom · Northern Ireland · Lisburn

HMP Maghaberry

High securityMaximummaleUnder capacity (92%)LowHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit HMP Maghaberry

Step-by-step guidance using the United Kingdom system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of HMP Maghaberry
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Northern Ireland's only high-security prison. Houses sentenced and remand adult males including separated paramilitary prisoners.

Background

HM Prison Maghaberry is a high security prison near Lisburn, Northern Ireland, which opened in 1986. It was built on the site of RAF Maghaberry, a World War II airfield used as a flying station by the Royal Air Force and a transit airfield for the United States Army Air Forces. At the end of the war, the airfield was run down and was bought back from the Air Ministry in 1957 by Edward Thomas Boyes who then farmed it with his sons until the Northern Ireland Office began work on the prison in 1976. Mourne House, which held female prisoners, young offenders, and remands, was the first part to be opened, in March 1986. This followed the closure of the women's prison at HMP Armagh.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

781

Current population

720

Occupancy

92%

Year opened

1986

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 22 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1986

Region

Northern Ireland

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

CJINI inspections describe a complex mixed-regime estate. Separated wings (Roe House and Bush House) reflect NI's political history.

Visiting

Pre-booked via the NIPS visits line; specific arrangements apply to separated regimes.

Mailing

Format: Prisoner Name & Number, HMP Maghaberry, Old Road, Lisburn BT28 2PT, Northern Ireland.

Practical info

Family Centre operated by NIACRO.

Known issues

Repeated CJINI concerns about the use of segregation and conditions in separated regimes.

Notable inmates

  • Ken Barrett
    1963

    Ken Barrett (born c.

  • Stephen McCullagh
    ? · YouTuber

    On 18 December 2022, Natalie McNally, a 32‑year‑old woman from Northern Ireland, was stabbed to death in her home in Lurgan, County Armagh.

  • Johnny Adair
    Johnny Adair
    1963 · terrorist

    John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is a Northern Irish loyalist, and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

Old Road, Ballinderry Upper, Lisburn BT28 2PT

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

0/100
Low concern0/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
0/30
Structural flags
0/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
0/10

This facility scores 0. The national average across 584 scored United Kingdom facilities is 4 — 4 points below national average.

Related facilities

All in United Kingdom →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in United Kingdom

583 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 0/100 · peers avg: 4/100 (100%)

Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in United Kingdom.

Occupancythis: 92% · peers avg: 115% (20%)
Capacity (beds)this: 781 · peers avg: 570 (+37%)

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). HMP Maghaberry. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-maghaberry
Chicago
"HMP Maghaberry." World Prisons. Accessed October 23, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-maghaberry.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-hmp-maghaberry,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {HMP Maghaberry},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/hmp-maghaberry},
  urldate = {2026-10-23}
}