Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol is one of the iconic sites in Dublin, and a major tourist attraction.  (Conveniently, right across the street from our hotel.) It was a prison, built in 1796, that supposedly reflected the new, improved style of prisons. Instead of piling everyone (men, women, and children) into large enclosures, the prisoners were separated into single small cells, under constant supervision and essentially under conditions of solitary confinement. It became particularly famous because many of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion (the Easter Rising) were imprisoned there and 14 executed by firing squad.

We toured the Gaol yesterday, and I posted one picture; but the site deserves more than that, and black and white seems much more appropriate than color for the photos. Hence the set I'm posting today.

A bas relief sculpture over the front door to the Gaol, depicting the torments that await malefactors.

Mug shot of a prisoner, displaced in the introductory slide show.

Iron stairs connecting levels of the prison.

Doorway to a cell

Interior cell blocks

Cells facing on the day-lit exercise yard

Walkways from which guards could keep an eye on the prisoners

Narrow spiral stairway by which prisoners got between their cells and the exercise yard,

designed to restrict their mobility.

Prisoners condemned to death by firing squad stood against the wall,

 behind the small black cross on the left.

Across the street from the Gaol is a sculpture depicting the 14 men who were executed, arranged in a circle. Three are shown here. Note the blindfolds and the bullet holes near their hearts.

Photo taken at night, with dramatic illumination and the Gaol in the background.