This posting is 2 weeks overdue, but we haven't had wifi access where we have stayed, and we couldn't drink enough to get postings done in pubs with wifi.
Kilmainham Gaol was the "new gaol" opened in 1796 and run for 128 years until it was decommissioned by the new Irish Free State in 1924. Only about 10% of the inmates were political prisoners, but they often received the harshest treatment.
Adults were imprisoned for a wide variety of crimes including stealing small amounts of food for survival. Children were sometimes arrested for petty theft and placed in the prison, the youngest said to be a seven year-old boy. Many of the prisoners were held awaiting a ship to "transfer" them permanently to Australia.
Men, women and children were imprisoned together, up to 5 in each cell, often with only a single candle for light and heat. Most of their time was spent in the cold and the dark as each candle had to last the prisoner for two weeks.
This picture of Irene in the doorway is no indication of what life was like inside.
This anti escape device is more characteristic.
The next few shots illustrate what the prison was like before some areas were renovated for tourists.
Another wing was no better.
I have a fascination for doors and locks.
Were you waiting to see what's inside?
The newest wing of the gaol has been restored.
Some of the architecture is remarkable, but I doubt that the prisoners cared.
After the Easter Week Rebellion in 1916, the British executed 16 Irish leaders, most in this prison.
Joseph Plunkett was permitted to marry and given 10 minutes with his new bride just before he was executed.
She remained in prison for many years. This was her cell.
Prisoners were usually given an hour a day to walk in the men's or the women's exercise yard.
Cheery, isn't it?
Flash forward to more recent years: Kilmainham Prison has been used as a movie set many times.
The following films have been made, at least in part, at Kilmainham Gaol
- The Quare Fellow, 1962
- The Face of Fu Manchu, 1965 (starring Christopher Lee)
- The Italian Job, 1969
- The Mackintosh Man, 1973
- The Last Remake of Beau Geste, 1977
- The Whistle Blower, 1987
- In the Name of the Father, 1993
- Michael Collins, 1996
- The Escapist, 2008 (starring Brian Cox)
- The Adventures of the Young Indiana Jones (2000)- Love's Sweet Song
A music video for the U2 song "A Celebration" was filmed in Kilmainham jail in 1982.
The Gaol was also used in the 2012 BBC series Ripper Street.
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