"Kilmainham Gaol +++ Smell Irish hi ..." a Dublin Travel Page by sabsi

The Jail opened in 1796 and closed in 1924 when the last prisoner, future Irish president <b>Eamon de Valera</b>, was released.

During these days Kilmainham jail mainly was a prison for <b>political prisoners</b> like Robert Emmet, Thomas Francis Meagher, Charles Stewart Parnell and the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising of course.

After its closing in 1924 Kilmainham Gaol was falling into a state of ruin. In 1960, <b>voluntary workers</b> - mostly veterans from the time of the Irish civil war - started restoring and made it to the national monument which it is now.

<b>Tours</b> take about an hour. Have a look into the museum before it starts! It then starts with the new wing that you might know from movies such as <b>"In the Name of the Father"</b>, followed by a multimedia (slide) show about <b>Irish history</b>, shown in the Catholic chapel where Grace Gifford and Joseph Mary Plunkett were married only a few hours before his execution.

After this you will see the small and cold cells which housed the 1916 leaders, but also the relatively big and comfortable rooms where <b>Parnell</b> stayed.

In the end there is Stonebreakers' Yard, where your guide describes the <b>executions</b> and a cross marks the spot. <b>James Connolly</b> was brought in here by ambulance and shot while tied to a chair because he was wounded during the <b>Easter rising</b>.

Many <b>Hollywood Movies</b> were filmed here (e.g. In the Name of the Father). You almost forget where you are in this part of the jail - but not when you enter the other (older) parts which are really depressing.

This is the Yard where the leaders of the <b>Easter Rising</b> were executed in 1916.