“On the night it happened I was in my nan’s house. Gardaí came and my mam collected me and took me to my auntie’s house. I heard one of them saying my dad was in prison. I was very sad. I was heartbroken. I will always remember that night.”

Children and families of prisoners are critical to the re-integration of their loved ones back into society, says Fiona Donson.

A group providing support services to visitors to Cork Prison have demanded a change to the current visiting regime and said some children are not seeing their fathers due to the rules in place.

ENA HOWELL thought the other five finalists in the ICA Volunteer of the Year competition were fantastic. “I was shocked to win,” says the Cork Federation secretary, who’s a mum-of-three and who has also been a foster carer for 22 years.