| Kilmainham Jail tips and photos posted by real travelers and Dublin locals.
Inchicore Road, Dublin 8
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This is one place you MUST visit when you are in Dublin. Take a number 79 bus out of the city to Kilmainham - it takes about 10 minutes. This jail held the leaders of the Easter Uprising of 1916 and they were executed here.
There is a guided tour which lasts about an hour and costs 5 Euro. It is given in English but the talk is VERY fast, and of a detailed political nature. I had difficulty following it as the tour guide had a very pronounced accent and I wondered how much a non-English speaker would actually understand.
The building is exceptionally cold and dark in places, especially the old wing, and you can get a feel of how life must have been for prisoners held there. 200-150 years ago, imprisonable offences ranged from murder, larceny, and rape to the stealing of bread, turnips and a coat. Children as young as 6 or 7 were held here in the same cells as adults. It was grim. Many are buried under the slabs in the "exercise" yard. Many were transported to the colonies where, after they had completed their sentences, they were free and had much better lives than those that remained.
During the famine years life in prison was marginally better than life outside - often minor offences were committed purely to get the miscreant into jail where at least they were guaranteed a roof and a small amount of food each day.
The new wing has been used in the films The Italian Job with Michael Caine and also The Name of the Father with Daniel Day Lewis. Leave a Comment
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The Gaol was built in 1796 on a hill with the idea that the fresh air would be good for the prisoners, although no glass in the windows & porous limestone walls illness quickly spread.
Men & women were kept separate in the Gaol & even children were sent here for petty crimes luck stealing potatoes. One man was held for 7 years for stealing a cart wheel. Photo’s were taken with a mirror to get the side profile.
14 leaders of the 1916 Easter uprising for Irish independence were held & executed here. Joseph Plunkett got married to Grace Gifford & executed 2 hours later.
The East wing was modernised & it was known as the all seeing eye. Prisoners were not allowed to talk & there were carpets on the floors outside the cells so prisoners could not hear the footsteps of the gaurds.
During the famine the jail was overcrowded, sometimes up to 6 in a cell made for one, people were committing crimes so as to get their 2 small meals in jail
Sometimes they have art galleries in the Jail cells of the East wing
Entrance into museum & guided tour is Euro 5 Leave a Comment Phone: 353 1453 5984Directions: Near Heuston Station
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Kilmainham is a must see on any visit to Dublin, it will open you eyes and really teach you about the history of this country and its people....In my own opinion it also makes you realise why some things are the way they are today in Ireland, and why some Irish people think the way that they do, why every Irish person is SO proud to be Irish.
Its a heart rendering place, but must be visited and at points made me ashamed to be English. Leave a Comment
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This picture was taken in the older part of the jail, it was stone cold, you cannot imagine how these people lived in such bad conditions.
The cells are tiny, and they had only a mattress, a bucket and a candle....Sad times. Leave a Comment
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The gaol was opened in 1796 and closed in 1926 it is quite a tourist attraction and while i do recommend seeing it,
be prepared, as it is quite a sad and eirie place.
In particular some of the letters on display in the museam are heartbreaking ,
Ireland was a different place then.... Thank God things have changed. We have come a long way, and though it was a tragic
journey We should be grateful that at last we have arrived at peace.
my grandfather was awarded medals for his part n the 1916 rising which are now on display in the museam inside the gaol.
He was in the GPO that easter, along with padraig pearse whom he shot in the leg,
I shoud state they were both on the same side. (well it was a ricochet bullet, but technicly speaking he shot him)
He always said I was a drama queen.
some useless information on this this place is that I used to have a friend whose father was the caretaker of the gaol, and so she lived with her family in an apartment inside the building, as there was and still is a preservation order on the front door and locks. her front door key was ENORMOUS!
The gaol is situated right accross the road from the Royal hospital, if your visiting both, leave this untill last as the beautiful architecture and peacefull gardens will help to lift your spirits again
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Built in 1796, Kilmainham Gaol served as a prison for 130 years, and it is now one of the most popular attractions in Dublin - and quite understandably so! We were once again lucky to have a very interesting tour guide, and as he led us through the prison's old wings, his description of the harsh conditions that prevailed while the building was in use became vividly real. Two major events marked the prison's history: the Great Famine, during which poverty led many men, women and even children to Kilmainham Gaol, and the Easter Rising of 1916. One of the first room we get to visit is the small chapel where Joseph Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, got married just a few hours before his execution. As we walked along the damp and dingy corridors, our guide explained the main events leading to the uprising as well as its consequences, while pointing out in which cell each of the leaders had spent his last hours. After a tour of the prison's Victorian wing, which has been featured in a number of movies, the tour ended in the very courtyard where the Easter Rising leaders were all executed. It was a very moving and very educational tour at the same time, definitely worth the short detour from city centre!
Kilmainham Gaol is open daily, and tours last about 1.5 h. There's a small cafe when you can get refreshments. Tickets: 6 Euros. Leave a Comment
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The Kilmainham Gaol was the city jail for hundreds of years. Bleak, depressing, hopeless. All these thoughts envelope your head as you tour through the barren cells, church and walkways. This is where the British held and excuted the leaders of the Easter Uprising. You are taken into the actual yard and it seems like it had happend only a day before. In the movie "Michael Collins" the scene in the gaol is so real it is unnerving. Don't miss the Post Office where these leaders fought and were captured. Leave a Comment
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If you've any interest in history, and you must or you wouldn't be here...WOULD you?!?!...do yourself a favor and visit Kilmainham Jail. It's a bit off the beaten track, not a very short walk from midtown, but if you do manage to find it on your own, rest assured there are buses from around the corner which will easily deposit you back at Temple Bar in a heartbeat. It was built back in the late 18th century and was in use to some degree clear through to the 1920's. You don't even have to know a lot about it or anything about it really, before you go, you have to take a guided tour anyway and will emerge with your head stuffed with facts and figures fleshed out by real stories on real people. And when you get home, you'll have to put Michael Collins and In the Name of the Father on your DVD rental list. Leave a Comment
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One of the myriad of historical facts and figures you hear here, which you should definitely keep in mind as you cross the threshold on your way out: This intricately carved doorway with the fancy mythical creatures, this is the site of Kilmainham's gallows for a good many years. And you are there. Brrrrr. Leave a Comment
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This jail had a very authentic feel to it, and one of the few tourist attractions in Dublin that was not crowded. Before entering the jail, there was an exhibit which provided a ton of information about Dublin's history. A guided tour was included in the price of admission, as well as a short film about the jail's history. I really enjoyed my visit, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Irish history. Leave a Comment
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