Streetwise: Stories from an Irish Prison

by Neville Thompson

Every day the population of Ireland wakes up to reports of another horror case of crime. The streets have become unsafe to walk upon and yet nothing seems to be done about it. Streetwise reveals what is really happening on the streets. The stories contained here are told by prisoners—those who have been involved in crime and are now paying their debt to society, allowing the reader to enter the minds of criminals and begin to understand the circumstances behind their actions. Meet Chang, who started joyriding at 8-years-old and was infamous among police and legendary among fellow law-breakers by the age of 12; Mucka, a once saintly schoolboy who was abandoned by both his family and society so took to robbing as a form of revenge; and Tommy, the divorcee who was refused social welfare so robbed the co-op of a million Euros and soon found the local wing of the IRA knocking at his door.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Neville Thompson is the author of five novels and the editor of two collections of short stories written by Irish prisoners, collected when he was a part-time prison teacher at Midlands Prison and Portlaoise Prison.

Reviews

[Jenny Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am very interested in prison life and what leads people to crime, this book was very interesting as it was written by prisoners so gave a real insight. I can’t imagine what life must be like on the type of estates that are mentioned, the things that drug addiction leads people to do, and how you would feel as a parent to see your child turn to this life if you had tried to give them a good upbringing. The play at the end was written for prisoners to enact and was particularly poignant.

[Carmel Carmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories told by prisoners within different prisons around Ireland. This book is actually humorous, the stories the prisoners had to tell about how the ended up behind bars.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and enlightening read showing a side of Ireland most of us never even knew existed