Liam Lawlor may have had to be told the day of the week on his release from Mountjoy after a stay in which there was little difference between each "24-hour period" as his committal warrant termed them.
The highlight of the week was a concert by Dublin rock band Aslan which was held in the prison on Monday evening, but Mr Lawlor did not attend.
As a prisoner held in protective custody, it was considered too risky have him mix with the other inmates, who enjoyed the rare break from routine.
Other prisoners also have the opportunity to attend training workshops or take jobs in the kitchen, bakery or in-house factory where the prison-issue jeans are made.
Mr Lawlor's status as a protected prisoner and the fact that he had not been convicted of any criminal offence meant he did not fall into that category.
"Contempt-of-court prisoners are treated more like remand prisoners," a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said.
One benefit of having the privileges of a remand prisoner is a personal visit a day, unlike other inmates who are allowed one visit a week although they can apply for a second one and most applications are granted.
Mr Lawlor had several personal visits over the week but at 15 minutes duration each, they filled only a small part of each day. Visits by his solicitors were counted separately and were not under a time restriction.
He was locked up the rest of the day with the option of one hour's exercise in a separate yard leading directly from the basement of B-block where he and the other segregated prisoners were held, but he did not use up his full allotment of time.
The yard allowed him fresh air but with its grey high walls, it offered little relief from the claustrophobic interior of the B-block basement, described by prisoner support lobbyists as "grim and dreary".
Mr Lawlor did not have access to his lap-top computer or mobile phone. Any phone calls he made had to be approved in advance and were limited in duration by the phonecards he had to buy at the prison shop. He also had to have a prison officer dial the number for him.
He was allowed to apply to the governor for his legal papers and documents relating to his case, but the Prison Service would not say whether he had availed of the offer.
As they are the same papers he has been looking at over the three years while his dealings with the Flood tribunal have grown increasingly fraught, they will not have given him much relief from the tedium of prison life.
For diversion he had to turn to the Mountjoy menu which, to the pride of prison authorities and the inmates who staff the kitchen, is considered to be of very high quality.
Although bound to strict meal-times which impose an "eat or do without" regime, Mr Lawlor was assured of daily variety with lunchtime dinners of chicken curry, gammon steaks, lamb chops, poached fish and other healthy options, accompanied by potatoes and vegetable and followed by desserts of trifle, ice-cream or apple pie.
Tea at 7 p.m. varied between sandwiches, sausage and beans, cold meat salads or light pasta dishes. Breakfast was cereal, toast, fruit juice and tea or coffee, served at 9 a.m. each day, after an 8.15 a.m. wake-up call.
Mr Lawlor will have to wait until this morning for a lie-in.