Disgraced former garda Paul Moody working as cleaner in Midlands Prison

He is serving his sentence at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise and is housed in the same division as murderer Graham Dwyer.

While incarcerated, all inmates are assigned a prison “job” where possible. Last week, Moody was given a job as a cleaner on the E1 landing of the medium security jail, according to a well-placed prison source.

“It is actually quite a sought-after job. The cleaners do their work while the other prisoners are out in the yard. So for inmates who want to avoid others, it’s a good gig.

"As a former garda, it suits Moody perfectly as it means he doesn’t have to mix with the other criminals in the yard,” the source said.

The 42-year-old is also under investigation by a divisional Garda Protective Services Unit over allegations of serious sex offences.

On July 26, Moody was jailed for three years and three months for his four-year campaign of harassment, threats, assaults and coercive control against his cancer-stricken ex-partner.

The abuse came to light when he voluntarily handed in his mobile phone to gardaí after making a false allegation against one of the woman’s relatives.

It has been decided he will be kept away from the general prison population for the entirety of his sentence, for his own safety.

It is understood he has been housed in a single cell in the E division, where murderer Dwyer, who killed vulnerable childcare work Elaine O’Hara as part of a sexual fantasy, is held.

“It also houses a lot of older sex offenders. So Paul Moody is in bad company,” the source said.

“Because he’s a former garda, he must be kept on protection and will be spending the majority of his time alone. Traditionally and for obvious reasons, prisoners generally don’t like gardaí. Many also don’t like those who commit crimes against women, so he’s ticked a couple of boxes already.”

Moody, of Saint Raphael’s Manor, Celbridge, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of coercive control in relation to the woman on dates between January 1, 2019 and November 30, 2020.