The Mick Clifford Podcast: The case of Cork woman Kay Barrett

Kay Barrett is in Limerick prison serving a sentence for breaking a safety order but her family insist that her troubles are entirely related to her mental health illness.

A woman who has been imprisoned in connection with serious mental health difficulties is being confined to a cell on her own and is “really struggling because she likes to be around people”.

Kay Barrett is in Limerick prison serving a sentence for breaking a safety order but her family insists that her troubles are entirely related to her mental health illness and that she should be admitted to an appropriate healthcare setting. Ms Barrett, from Donaghmore, Co Cork, was taken to prison in June following the activation of a suspended sentence for breaking the terms of the safety order. The judge who heard the case, James McNulty, accepted that she was in a distressed state.