Prison officers strip off for charity calendar
So some of the lads from the Irish Prison Service have gotten together to disrobe for a charity calendar.
It's in aid of the Irish Cancer Society so, you know. Charidee.
The above picture - featuring Wicklow senior footballer Ciaran Hyland, beefcake fans - is just a taster of what's to come in the calendar, shot last week in Brian Stack House, the Prison Service's Dublin training facility.
"All the lads genuinely work in the Irish Prison Service," said organiser Derek Martin, a serving prison officer based in Wheatfield, Dublin.
"A few of the lads who took part have been touched personally by cancer and just wanted to raise awareness and much needed funds."
According to Derek, what started out as an 'in-house' fundraising idea has now taken on a life of its own.
"We set up the Facebook page after the shoot last Friday and have had more than 1,000 likes since," he told breakingnews.ie.
"We were thinking at first that we'd just do around 300 calendars, but now we're looking at doing up to 2,500, such is the demand," he said.
Derek, who was on Today FM's KC Show earlier to talk about the calendar, said that far from having to be cajoled into getting their kit off, the lads were eager to show off their wares to the world.
"We went through five bottles of baby oil on the shoot," he told breakingnews.ie.
"Some of the lads even brought their own weights so that their muscles would be in peak form for the pictures."
You'd think that Derek and the lads would be wary of the slagging they are about to receive from the inmates, but not a bit of it.
"The slagging we'd give ourselves would be an awful lot worse," he said.
"And besides, there's a good bunch of lads (inmates) in Wheatfield now. You'd expect the slagging, but nothing malicious.
"To be honest, it's the female officers I'm worried about.
"We've already had to have a word with the governor to warn them not to be bringing the calendars in while they're working."
We've no details on a release date for the calendar but a launch party is planned for early December and we'll keep you informed…
