Liam Lawlor's punishment will be somewhat compounded tonight when he misses a rare opportunity to experience a theatrical event in Mountjoy prison.
The Dublin West TD may have had enough drama for one week, anyway.
But the authorities' decision to place him in the health care wing rather than the training unit means he will be deprived of a one-night-only performance of Hatchet by Heno Magee.
A play about "a hard man who wants to change but is prevented from doing so by social pressures", Hatchet includes a cast of prisoners from the training unit and will be attended by unit inmates and special invited guests. Mr Lawlor is in neither of these categories, a prison source said.
The piece is directed by City of Dublin VEC drama teacher Frank Allen, who says that as well as developing skills among the prisoners, drama can also be a means of enabling them "to look at issues which have led them to prison".
Of Hatchet, he adds: "By exploring the conflict between personal choice and social forces, Heno Magee has written a play which is as relevant today as when it was written."
In its depiction of inner-city violence, the work was very controversial when first staged during the late 1970s.
Ironically, the choice of the health care wing for Mr Lawlor was partly decided on the grounds that his public profile could make him a target for violence elsewhere in Mountjoy.
The play is the latest in a long series presented by the VEC's education service at the prison unit, which has twice won the P.J. O'Connor radio drama awards.
Mountjoy governor Mr John Lonergan will be among those invited to attend the performance tonight. Hopefully, he won't be too busy dealing with the media and security problems presented by his new guest to attend.
