Paul Joseph Madigan (March 13, 1897 – December 25, 1974) was the third warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which was situated on Alcatraz Island, California, US.

[3] He has been cited as the only warden who had worked his way up from the bottom of the ranks of the prison staff hierarchy, having worked originally as a Correctional Officer on Alcatraz from the 1930s.

[4][5] On May 21, 1941, Madigan was important in quashing an escape attempt after being held hostage in the Model Industries Building, which later led to a promotion to associate warden.

[3] He was a stout, ruddy-faced, pipe-smoking, devout Irish Catholic.

[4] During his term as warden from January 1955, there was a movement underway headed by the likes of James V. Bennett to close Alcatraz and replace it with a new centralized penitentiary.