28-Year-Old Man Held In Seclusion For Last Five Years
The Big Story
Thursday, 12 February 2026 - 20 minutes
A Roscrea mum says she's still searching answers on why her son has spent almost five years in an isolation unit.
Stephen Loughnane suffered a serious brain injury after a car crash at 16, leading to an eventual diagnosis of psychosis and schizophrenia.
After an episode in 2021, he was remanded to Limerick Prison and is now held in Central Mental Hospital, Portane, where he remains in seclusion.
She has been speaking with Will Faulkner and says visiting is very difficult as she can't even hug him:
