In honor of Patrick Pearse's birthday I'm going to share part of the my review of Kilmainham Gaol from the Kaufman Green Guide: Dublin. Sadly Kilmainham Gaol was where Patrick Pearse was executed.
The tour of Kilmainham Gaol began with an introductory slide
show in what was one of the jails chapels.
The slide show begins by showing how the jail and other jails were often
overcrowded. It was also mentioned that
jails until more recent times did not separate men and women or children and
adults.
During the slide show the guide also talked about the 1916
Rebellion as many of those involved in the 1916 Rebellion were both held in
jail cells in Kilmainham Gaol and some of them were also executed in the yard
of Kilmainham Gaol. If you haven’t
already learned about or heard of the 1916 Rebellion you will learn about the
1916 Rebellion during your stay in Ireland.
My husband and I found it particularly interesting learning about the
1916 Rebellion because neither of us remembered being taught about the 1916
Rebellion in school.
Following your introduction in the chapel, you will see the
older wing of the jail. The older wing
of Kilmainham Gaol is also where many of those in the 1916 Rebellion were
held. You then move to the “newer part”. By newer part I am referencing built during
the Victorian era. In the Victorian part
of the jail you will see fascinating functional architecture. History buffs will appreciate that the cells
of certain famous prisoners have been labeled with plaques both in the older
and newer parts of the jail. History
buffs will also enjoy the interesting stories about the famous prisoners that
your guide will share with you.
Speaking of prison cells, in the Victorian part, when your
tour guide gives you some time to look around at the different cells make sure
to look into the cell of Grace Gifford Plunkett’s. In her cell Grace Gifford Plunkett painted
pictures that can still be seen today.
There is an amazing picture of the Virgin and Child painted by Plunkett. The painting is particularly amazing when you
figure that Grace Gifford Plunkett probably had limited access to materials to
paint with.
You will then go outdoors to the exercise grounds, which
were more importantly the sight of the executions of a number of members of the
1916 Rebellion. The sites of the
executions are marked with crosses. Most
of the executions took place in one spot, but that of James Connolly took place
across the yard from the others.
Connolly was severely injured during the rebellion and likely would have
only survived a few days and was held at Dublin Castle instead of the jail due
to his poor health. Too weak to be taken
to the other side of the yard Connolly was brought from Dublin Castle and was
executed on the opposite side of the yard than the others. The executions were carried out by firing
squads.
The 1916 Rebellion wasn’t particularly popular or widespread.
It was the secret executions by the
British government of a number of those involved in the 1916 Rebellion and
their martyrdom that would change how many of the Irish felt and that ultimately
lead to most of Ireland joining the mostly successful fight for independence
from the United Kingdom. Several years
later most of Ireland would be free from British rule, except for a few of the
northern parts. Some of the Irish even today
do not consider this victory complete as Northern Ireland is still subjected to
British rule.
Returning to the yards, the yards weren’t used mainly for
executions; rather the main purpose of the yards was for having the prisoners
exercise. If you have seen the prison
scenes with Mr. Bates in Downtown Abby where the prisoners are walking around
in circles not allowed to talk to each other, this is how the exercise was at
the Kilmainham Gaol.
One other thing to see on your trip to the jail is the front
of the building. The front of the jail
is not part of the tour so have a look at the front of the building before or
after your tour. There are two things to
note about the front of the building.
The first is the carving with the 5 snakes in front of the
building. The second thing to note is that
in the early days of the jail public hangings occurred in the front of the
building, but only for a short period of time before public hangings were ended
and prisoners were executed in private.
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