Kilmainham Gaol

A former prison which is now a museum. Kilmainham Gaol played an important part in Irish history, as

many leaders of Irish rebellions were imprisoned and some executed in the prison by the British and latterly

in 1923 by the Irish Free State.

A beautiful fireplace in what would have been the warden’s house.

Gas lines for light were added in the 19th century. Before then the small hole over the doorway provided light from a window opposite. There

were no windows to protect from cold.

The view from a peephole in the cell door.

The East Wing was added in Victorian

times when jail reform

was based on giving the

prisoners light and exercise.

The wing was designed so

that guards on the bridges

could see all the cells at all

times.

Prisoners used the spiral staircase

which forced them to move

slowly in single file.

Grace Evelyn Gifford Plunkett (4 March 1888 – 13 December 1955) was an artist who was active in the Republican movement. She is mainly remembered for marrying Joseph Plunkett in Kilmainham Gaol only a few hours before he was executed for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising.

She was arrested with many others in February 1923 and detained for about 3 months. She painted pictures on the walls of her cell, including one of the Madonna and Child. She was

released in May 1923.

A cross marks the spot where James Connolly, a leader of the 1916 Easter Uprising, was tied to a chair (he was wounded in the

rebellion and could not stand on his

own) and shot by firing squad. The executions of the

rebels deeply angered the

majority of the Irish population,

and eventually led to the freedom of the Irish Republic.

An effective method of preventing prisoners

from climbing the drainpipe to

escape.

A “Tommy Gun” and primitive

bullet-proof vest from the uprising of

1916

A gun rack designed for use on a bicycle.