Nathan McDonnell's solicitor demands 'safety plan' for his client after 'very violent' prison assault

Mr McDonnell's lawyer, Padraig O'Connell, said: 'The State have obviously let him down very badly in that he was left open to a very violent assault.'

Nathan McDonnell is expected to go to hospital for surgery in the wake of the attack. File picture: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD 

The solicitor for a Kerry businessman convicted of facilitating Ireland’s largest ever haul of crystal meth has said his client was “let down badly” by the State after he suffered a “very violent” assault in prison.

Nathan McDonnell, a 44-year-old former Ballyseedy garden centre owner in Tralee, was assaulted by notorious gangland figure Glen Thompson at Portlaoise Prison.