Kilmainham Gaol

Our next stop was Kilmainham Gaol. It opened in 1796 and was very modern and ahead of it's time. It was used as a debtor's prison as well as a political prison. Many people who fought for the Irish independence were executed here. Also, ages varied a lot. The guide said that the youngest girl who was imprisoned was 8 and the youngest boy was 5. They were put in prison because they were stealing food due to hunger. During the potato famine, many people wanted to be in jail because it meant they would get a little food as opposed to none. The jail was the first to have solitary cells and used silence as a way of punishing and reforming people. Exercise was done in the larger areas--only walking around the perimeter and in complete silence for one hour per day. This picture shows one of the smaller areas.



Looking through the bars to the courtyard below. None of the windows had glass and it was very cold. The only thing the prisoners had in their cell was a bucket and a blanket. The cell below actually was modernized later on as it has a toilet. The cells were very small, although if you were an important person the cell would be larger.


The words below were above one of the doorways.



The next two pictures are taken from the inside area of the jail. It was built in this manner so that the jailer could see all the cells very easily. It was beautiful and bright with huge windows. Now it is used for concerts and events as the acoustics are great.



In the above picture you can see the spiral staircase. This was the only way the prisoners could get down to the lower level. It was very slow to get up and down. In the next picture there is a long straight staircase. This was only used by the guards who could get down very quickly in case of trouble with the prisoners. The architecture was amazing considering it was a prison.


This picture below is in the area where stone was broken up for use in building. The gate was opened when the stone was loaded onto the wagons. The prisoners all had to work, for it was believed that was a way of teaching reform. Even the youngest children had to do work. They would be given a piece of rope, sometimes dipped in tar, and would have to separate the rope into fibers. It was very hard work and their fingers would bleed while they were working. Some of the prisoners were only in the jail for a few months. Others never were freed and were executed.


This flag is in the same area where the stone was broken. The guide said that the green was for
the native Irish people who were mostly Irish Catholics. The orange was for the British supporters of William Orange who settled in Northern Ireland and were mainly protestant.
The white represents peace and honesty between the people.


The jail was used until July 16, 1924 when the last prisoner , Eamon de Valera, was released who later became president of Ireland.
This tour was one of the highlights of our trip so far.