Monthly Archives: June 2015

On Friday Marco and I went to Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison which closed in 1924 after the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence. It was restored in the 1960s after suffering from disrepair and disuse. Unfortunately the East Wing was closed for renovation at the time (we were told it would actually be re-opening in a few weeks) although this closure was reflected in the discounted ticket price. A ticket price that was definitely affordable. I think it was €6, although the website says €7. The tour lasts about 45 to 50 minutes. My biggest advice is to arrive early right when it opens at 9.30 – We got there around 9.40 and took the tour around 10.00. When we left the next tour was full (about 30 people maximum) with about 15 people waiting outside.

Above: the altar at the jail. Here you see a brief presentation and hear about the history of the jail from your tour guide. Do you see the barely visible white outline of a door behind the altar? It’s painted over and no longer in use. Remember that for the end of the blog post.

One of the jail doors. The doors were made of the same material as shields back in the medieval ages, a leather mixed with tar to reinforce it.

One of the walkways in the old part of the jail. What we were standing on was the same as the floor above – wooden reinforcement on the left side and iron bridges (not quite visible but look for the iron bridge near the middle – the grid iron directly above wasn’t the walkable part) that lead to each door.

Note that Kilmainham Gaol was one of the first modern prisons. Before this, prisoners were generally locked up 25 to 30 in one large room, women and children with the men. Unfortunately this had the side effect of making it a place to learn the “tricks of the trade” as it were and commit more crimes. As Kilmainham Gaol’s goal was rehabilitation, each prisoner was in their own room with about 180 cells in total.

In theory. This was no longer possible during the Great Potato Famine in the 1840s. During those 5 years people there were on average 8 people in each cell. One cell still containing only one bed, table, and chair. With no plumbing. You can imagine the amount of disease here. With that said, a lot of people (women and children) committed crimes just to get into the prison – at least here you were guaranteed one meager meal per day. Better than on the outside.

Door in the general “exercise” area leading outside the jail. Exercise was mainly everyone walking in a circle, heads down looking at your feet. This was unfortunately also the home of the 1916 Easter Rising executions.

Remember that door behind the altar mentioned in the first photo? If you were scheduled to be executed you first visited the chapel to receive your last rites. Then you walked through that door to come to this area where you were executed.

 One of the two crosses in the exercise area. The matching one was on the other side of the yard. One cross (not pictured) was placed for the death of 13 of the 14 men during the 1916 Easter Rising. The cross pictured above was placed to commemorate the death of James Connolly.

His death was particularly shocking as he had been gravely wounded during the rising and was expected to die within a few days regardless, likely from gangrene due to an un-amputated limb. Still, he was taken from the hospital to Kilmainham in an ambulance to be executed at the cross above, opposite from where the other executions took place. Possibly it was right next to the gate so that the ambulance did not have to go far. At the moment of execution he was too weak to stand and thus had to be tied to a chair before being shot. It was his death, particularly the manner of his death, that really swayed public support for the cause (support that had started to grow with the deaths of the other 13 men).

And that is your history for today!

Another Dublin post – one of the places Marco and I visited was the Garden of Remembrance. It is on the northern side of the city center, near Parnell Square. The park commemorates fighters from the various uprisings, from the 1798 rebellion to the 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence.

It is a bit hard to tell from this angle but the water is in the form of crucifix. It reminded me a lot of the Lincoln Memorial Reflection Pool in Washington D.C.

The other side of the water. What you can barely see in the water is drawings of broken weapons. Irishmen would historically break their weapons and throw them into water as a sign of peace. You can see these images a bit better on the Wikipedia page.

The focal point is a statue, Children of Lir, which references an Irish legend. In short, the three children of Lir were turned into swans for 900 years (representing the struggle for Irish independence over 900 years).

And a close up from another angle:

All in all a beautiful place full of Irish history.

Another Dublin post! This one about Guinness storehouse and also St. Michan’s Church, known for its crypts.

The blue waterfall near the beginning of the tour of the storehouse:

This first section (the first few floors) talked mainly about how one makes Guinness. There was also a section with a huge container of hops for you to grab, touch, and put back. If you so desire.

One tip: before going here check out the Carroll’s gift stores that dot the city, especially the large one on O’Connell street. A lot of stores sell Guinness items, although obviously the store in the storehouse has the largest selection.

Finished barrels at the storehouse. There is a whole section on how the old barrels were made by coopers back in the day.

Large sculpture at the storehouse, complete with a large film screen showing how it was made. It is a 12 foot wooden carving of a Guinness pint. The second half of the tour focuses on advertising through the years (including “Guinness makes you strong!”)

The last stop on the Guinness storehouse tour is the Gravity Bar on the 7th floor which gives you 360 degree views of the city. The above photo is only one piece of it, of course. I couldn’t tell you off hand which part of the city this overlooks as the bar was quite busy in the afternoon. Note that the finishing bit of the tour is turning in your ticket to receive a free pint of Guinness (or soft drink) to sip while you take in the views of the city.

Another place that Marco and I visited during the trip was St. Michan’s Church – primarily because you could go below to see the crypts. It is a reasonably priced tour (€6/adult).

Above: back of the church.

Above: stained glass windows at the church.

 Above: Plaque on the wall. There were at least a dozen of these. It gives the place a bit of history!

It was definitely more off the beaten path that I expected – Marco and I did the first half of the tour with the guide alone. The first half of the tour is a few small burial vaults, including one with the “Crusader” who has been dead about 650 years. If you are lucky they will let you touch him for good luck. The story with the first crypt is that you are not allowed to open them, but some of the caskets were stacked haphazardly on top of each other and over the years fell open, allowing access to the mummies. The foundation of the church is limestone, which keeps the crypts at an optimal temperature and helps to preserve the bodies.

The second crypt contains more rooms, with one including the death mask of Theobald Wolfe Tone. Most of the rooms were unlit – you can peek inside but you won’t see much – because they are still actively in use and someone in the family could be buried there. The room with the death mask is lit and another room in the far back is also lit. The latter room is lit because no one else will be buried in the room (the last to die there was a “black sheep” and the family has since been buried elsewhere).

Note that no photographs are allowed in the crypts. There are some photographs on the church’s “about the crypts” page (linked above) and at the gallery at Wikipedia. Expect a small tour – a handful of people at the same time. Check the hours before you go. If the guide is busy with another group, you will be able to wait inside the church and take pictures there (which is what you see above in my photographs).

Sorry for the lack of posts, all! Marco and I were actually in Dublin for the last week. So I guess I will have to apologize again for all of the Dublin related posts you are about to see, but I took a LOT of photos… not that you need to see them all!

Our trip was Monday to Monday, and on the first day we visited Phoenix Park right by our hotel (Ashling hotel).

Above is a statue of Sean Huston, one of the 14 men executed after the 1916 Easter Rising. You can read more about him over at Wikipedia.

In Phoenix Park you also have the Wellington Monument, currently the tallest obelisk in Europe. It commemorates the victories of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

A closeup of the monument – not quite stairs.

On Tuesday we went to Dublin Zoo, situated in Phoenix Park. Here are some of the photos I took:

One of the tigers, slightly blurry photo – added for my mother-in-law. ;p

Zoom-in of two orangutans. Cute! The one lying down was quite affectionate, occasionally grasping the other’s hand.

Sea lions swimming past…

Two bongos. These are antelopes. See more at Wikipedia.

A small waterfall. Note the duck peeking out from the left side of the rock. I take photos of waterfalls whenever I can.

A hippopotamus just lounging away. Kind of what I wanted to do this morning instead of going to work!