"Management will err on the side of caution"
Karen Harrington will likely spend 21-hours in prison lockdown due to safety concerns.
Earlier this month, Harrington was found guilty of murdering 2-year-old Santina Cawley.
She will now spend the remainder of her life in prison.
Last week, Harrington was handed a mandatory life sentence.
Prison officers are concerned fellow inmates will attack Harrington so have placed her in lockdown.
She can only leave her single-occupancy cell for showers, exercise, and visits.
Officers are concerned that her fellow inmates will attack her over what she did to the Cork toddler.
Speaking to the
Sunday World, a source said: "Harrington is going to be extremely unpopular for what she has done - for the time being anyway."
"And for the time being, management and operations will err on the side of caution."
The source added, "She'll be let out by a prison officer for exercise, to meet with governors, and for showers and visits."
Harrington's lockdown may be lifted if the level of threat she is under is "low".
However, she will remain under 21-hour lockdown for the immediate future.
"It might be decided to keep her on a protection regime for a year, or two years, or even longer."
Santina Cawley's mother called out the killer last week and said she was "playing the game".
Speaking to Virgin Media News, her grief-stricken mother said she'll never recover from this loss.
Bridget said she is "very angry" with Karen Harrington.
"She just sat there in court like nothing happened. She was playing the game, that's the way I see it."
The mum said she will always have her memories of Santina, but she will never get over the loss.
"I'll never get over what happened to our lovely baby."
