Kilmainham Gaol 03/21/2022
You could nor ask for better weather. The sun was shining, a light breeze, and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for walking around Dublin. We started the day off touring the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). The jail was constructed in 1796. Initially there were 100 cells, with one inmate in each room. Later on, especially during the famine years, there were up to 5 people, or more, in each cell. There was no segregation of prisoners; men, women, and children were housed together. During the famine years, the jail population rose exponentially. There were millions of people in danger of starving to death. Getting into Kilmainham was a sure way to have something to eat. During the Famine years, only 85 people perished while they were incarcerated. They did not starve to death, they died for other reasons.
During the 18th and early 19th century, in an effort to reduce its prison population, the United Kingdom courts added penal transport to their sentences. The prisoner transports were used on a large scale. Some were sent to the Americas, but most were sent to penal colonies in Australia. Once their sentence was served and they were released, most stayed in Australia. They could not afford the transportation cost back to Ireland. Over 4,000 prisoners were deported in this way. In the mid 1860’s, many members of the Fenian Brotherhood were incarcerated here. Among those, were quite a few Civil War soldiers, both North and South. Most of these were former Irish immigrants who were Fenians. They wanted to fight on the side of the Fenians in Ireland who were fighting for Ireland’s independence from England. The North and South was truly united. I think they were addicted to war and missed the smell of gunpowder.
About 300 members of Irish Republic that participated in the Easter 1916 Rising against England, were placed in the jail. It gained worldwide notoriety, when the ring leaders were executed, on the order of the Crown, a few days later. This act galvanized the Irish in their struggle for independence.
A lot of history. If you do come over here, add this to your to do list.
We stopped in at the Confession Box. It was used extensively in the 1920’s, when many of the Irish were excommunicated from the church. Several priests would visit the Pub and hear their confessions. I had to stop in and see it for myself. Today was a walking day, 17,800 steps. Tomorrow we will go to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
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