Page 46 - royal-times-14-15

KILMAINHAM

On Monday 10th November Miss Trenier and Miss Reilly brought all the transition years on a trip to Kilmainham Gaol. We had
studied Irish political history for our Junior Cert course and were keen to go and visit the place which had held so many Irish
political prisoners. The Gaol was first built in 1796 and was originally outside the city borders but through time the city has
expanded and now the Gaol is on the north side of the city.
Some very famous figures from Irish history have been imprisoned within
the walls of Kilmainham such as Robert Emmett, Parnell, de Valera and 15
of the men who were executed for their role in the 1916 rising.
We got to see inside some prison cells and heard about how the busiest
period for the gaol was during the great famine in the 1840’s. We sat in
the church where Joseph Plunkett married his fiancée Grace Gifford just
hours before he was executed by a firing squad. It was a very sad and
romantic story. Then we were brought outside where the men had been
killed by a firing squad. The yard where these prisoners were executed
still has a chilly feeling in the air. The tour guide told lots of stories about
other prisoners in the Gaol and answered all our questions. It was a very
enjoyable and interesting trip!

46 The Royal Times 2014-2015