Kilmainham Gaol

Sobering. I believe they say the "gaol" was in use from the late 1700's to about 1924. It was a prison for reform. The philosophy of the prison's architect was "silence, supervision, and separation." It was for men, women, and children (the youngest recorded at 5 years old). Many of the charges were for small things like the stealing of bread or potatoes, begging, or riding a train without a ticket. These offenses could result in imprisonment periods that were days or months long.

When a convict entered Kilmainham, he(or she) would be given a "welcome package" of a thin uniform and a 4-inch candle (which would be his only source of heat for the next 2 weeks). Because the building was made of limestone, the jail was extremely cold and damp. Diseases like tuberculosis and asthma abounded. Prisoners were to be separated in cells meant for one but with overcrowding often 5 prisoners would stay in one cell. They had one bucket for their latrine which they had to clean out themselves each day. Later that day, they had to use that same bucket for their food. This led to typhoid and dysentery. It wasn't until the Victorian era that heat was piped in and food was served in more health-conscious ways. Political prisoners were treated much better.

The jail is most infamous for housing and executing the leaders of the Easter Uprising in 1916. Fourteen of the sixteen leaders of the uprising were held at the prison and later executed. In his poem "Easter 1916", W.B. Yeats writes:

All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

The decision to execute these leaders was seen as rash and unnecessary. Their deaths led to a unified struggle for self-rule -- rallying the country to finally declare independence from Britain in the 1920s.

The jail still stands as a reminder of the turmoil throughout Irish history and the spirit of the Irish desire for  freedom.