I almost didn't get to visit the Kilmainham Gaol. I had that on my list, but I wasn't aware that a reservation has to be made to get a ticket. So one morning, I simply went there thinking I could just walk in and get a ticket on the spot. I didn't realise that there was a high demand that day, but thankfully, since I was alone, they managed to squeeze me into the next tour about to start.
Kilmainham Gaol is a very historical place, and if one wanted to learn more about Ireland's recent history, especially those that focus on the early 20th-century and their struggle for independence, then this place is absolutely the place to go. The guided tour definitely is something that is very informative.
Kilmainham Gaol was a prison, and was originally intended to house petty criminals. It was built in 1796, and in the beginning, the people who were incarcerated here were those who committed small crimes, and I was told that sometimes, the people who were very poor even committed those small crimes just so that they can have a place to stay temporarily and get some food. Men, women, and even children were imprisoned here at some point. It isn't the nicest place to be, and there were times when the cells were over-crowded, but nevertheless, it functioned as a prison all the way up to 1924, when it was decommissioned.
Kilmainham Gaol played a very integral role in the 1916 Easter Rising. Key people were in fact executed here. At the prison yard, seen above, there are memorials signifying where these executions took place. Our tour guide was especially very detailed in showing the turn of events during these executions, and it was definitely an interesting experience to be treading the ground where such significant events have happened.
