Kilmainham Gaol, Ireland's Historic Prison
I'm no history buff. In fact I find most historic sights boring and dull. Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Ireland changed that for me. It was bar-none they best historical tour I have ever been on! If you ever get the chance to visit Dublin this is a can't miss tour. You will see a historic prison, learn the story behind the jail, but most importantly the story of the Irish Republican movement in the early 1900's that helped shaped Ireland into the country it is today.
The tour is led by very informed and educated Irish tour guides. You can tell in their delivery that they are passionate about what they do. Our guide truly wanted us to imagine what life would have been like locked up in here. He got rather emotional when talking about the many political prisoners and how it was a black eye to Irish culture.
The prison started out as a reformation prison, but during the great potato famine people were committing crimes just to get thrown in there so they could get three square meals a day. The prison housed both male and female in the same cell and even children as young as 5 years old!! Public hangings were held at the entrance to the prison, but turned into a drunken village gathering so they moved them inside. Eventually they moved to firing squads. The pictures below shows where those took place. You can actually stand there and imagine that was the last thing many people ever saw in their life.
Here is the plague in the fire squad area remembering the political prisoners executed in that very spot along with the historical document they wrote.
You will notice two holes in the door. One for adults and one for children. The prison got so crowded that there would be up to 8 people in each cell with no real toilet.
My wife was not to fond of being locked up. Do not miss out on an opportunity to take this tour if you make your way to Dublin!
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Thanks for sharing this great post. That is some fascinating history and great photos!
Very cool! We love exploring historic sites. We are just blown away about how stunning the architecture is in Ireland. Especially since they didn't have advanced technology to help them construct these amazing structures. Great post. Will have to put this on our list for next time.
Our tour guide literally had tears in his eyes when he talked about the atrocities that took place in this prison. The emotion was real and you could feel his pain. Amazing tour!
I love all history, and don't mean to be a party-pooper, but there was no potato famine, only deliberate starvation genocide, the Irish Holomodor. Like the Soviets starved out the Ukrainians by removing all the food. The English have always tried to kill off the Irish, for hundreds of years.
@binksmom you are correct. I should have worded that better. Not sure where you grew up, but as a child here in Minnesota we always called that time frame of Irish history the "great potato famine". After this tour I now know it was a deliberate starvation. All of the food they had was exported to England. Thank you for the correction.
had me an Irish Grandad who came over from County Cork in 1921, and he had a fiery recollection of all things English (and a brogue I could not understand until I was 12)
I completely agree, I think this is one of the best tours in Dublin. Nice informative post.
Thanks @eroche! I loved my trip to Ireland and hope to get back some day. I noticed you post a lot about your travels and Dublin. I followed you! Steem On!
Thank you. I am having great fun doing a series about the pubs in Dublin. Steem on ! I am following you too.
We loved all the pubs we visited. I did not get to as many as I would have liked. I think the pubs outside the city had more charm and felt more "Irish Authentic" if that make sense? Temple Bar area was pretty cool but being 32 years old and visiting over St. Patrick's Day we headed off the beaten path to find a less crowded pub. I look forward to reading your posts!