While I’m in California on vacation this week, my parents wrote some fun travel posts to share with you guys. They recently traveled to Ireland for a week. Being Irish is a huge thing in our family, and my parents always enjoy visiting. Today, my Mom shares their experiences at the Kilmainham Gaol Prison and the Glasnevin Cemetery. I know what you’re thinking…don’t worry. They’re pretty cool!
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Cemeteries and prisons, oh my! I know what you are thinking; they go all the way to Ireland and spend three days visiting cemeteries and a prison, why? Well, it’s pretty simple. My husband and I are major history buffs. Wherever we travel, we always try to visit local cemeteries. We’ve been to some amazing places in the world and always end up at a cemetery. On our last visit to Ireland, Sarah, The Blonde Bostonian was shocked to find a human bone in an old cemetery. We feel that cemeteries hold many history lessons for the area in which they are located.
Off to prison we go! On blustery day we headed off to Kilmainham Gaol. Once a prison it is now a museum. I have to tell you, while this prison is of major historical importance; I found it to be disturbing. Disturbing is the only way I can describe it. It was cold, dark and oppressive. I can’t imagine that men, women and children as young as five were actually housed here.
Kilmainham Gaol was built in 1796. At first the prison population was not segregated. Men, women and children were placed together in a single cells made entirely of stone. Their only source of heat and light was a single candle, of which they received one a month. Later in time, the prison population became segregated. During the great Irish famine, this jail was filled to the brim with people whose only crime were things such as; stealing bread or a chicken to feed their families. Children who stole food were also arrested and put into this jail. The prison population rose dramatically during the famine due in part to people wanting to be arrested and put in jail to get a meal. The prison is intimately linked with the story of Irish nationalism. The majority of Irish leaders in the rebellions of 1789, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 were imprisoned here. During the Irish War of Independence; 1919-1921, Kilmainham housed many political prisoners. Hangings were carried out in this prison and took place off the balcony in front of the jail entrance. Sixteen executions by firing squad took place after The Easter Uprising of 1916. We visited the prison courtyard where the executions took place. A black cross marked the spot. We were able to visit the prison yard where prisoners actually spent their days breaking up rocks and moving them from one pile to another. This method of punishment was steeped in the belief that prisoners must repent for their crimes and that hard labor would aid in the process.
Dad in a prison cell.
The prison was decommissioned in 1924. Restoration of the prison began in 1960 and was completed by 1971. Kilmainham has been used in the making of movies. “In The Name of the Father” (1993) staring Daniel Day-Lewis was filmed here as well as “Michael Collins” (1996) starring Liam Neeson.
I asked our tour guide if she had ever seen anything unusual in the prison (ghosts). She said she had not seen any but admitted that the prison had a “feel” to it. I have to tell you, I felt that feeling! I felt a feeling of oppression, sadness and sorrow. A wave of despair came over me while walking the prison’s stone walkways. We were able to enter cells and walk around them. We were allowed to gaze into the cells of Ireland’s most famous freedom fighters. We were surrounded by thick, cold stone walls. As difficult as I found being at Kilmainham, I appreciated the jail’s importance to the history of Ireland and it’s proud people.
In Dublin we paid a visit to Glasnevin Cemetery. It is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland, with 1.5 million people buried there. It is still an active cemetery; in fact as we arrived for our visit a funeral was taking place. This cemetery opened in 1832. Because grave robbing was common during the 18th and 19th centuries, you will find high walls and watch towers surrounding the main part of the cemetery. One of the most moving parts of our tour was an area called “angles plot”. The plot was set up for the burial of infants; those who died shortly after birth and still births. There was a time when Catholic babies who died before they were baptized could not be buried in marked graves or have a funeral. Over 50,000 babies are buried in this plot. There are no head stoned, markers or monuments in this plot. I said a prayer there for all those beautiful little lives.
One of the most famous persons buried in Glasnevin is Daniel O’Connell. Visiting his grave site is somewhat of a pilgrimage for any visitor of Irish dissent to Dublin. Daniel O’Connell is referred to as “The Liberator” and “The Emancipator” to the Irish. He was an Irish political leader during the first part of the 19th century who campaigned for Catholic emancipation. He is said to have been an inspiration to Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglas. He is buried in an underground crypt marked by a large tower. The outer casing that houses his simple wooden coffin has cutouts which allow the faithful to touch his coffin; the edges of which have been rubbed to a gleaming shine by thousands of admirers, including my husband and I. One is to touch the coffin and then their heart. Other notable Irish buried in this cemetery are; the politicians Michael Collins and Eaton de Valera. Brendan Behan and Christy Brown represent two of Ireland’s great writers buried here as well.
A day trip to Glendalough, outside of Dublin, brought us to the ancient St. Kevin’s monastery. It is one of the most important ancient monasteries in Ireland. When Henry the 8th decided to separate the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, the monasteries in Ireland were stripped of their assets and income. Most of them fell into disrepair and were abandoned. Through the help of locals, St. Kevin’s has been restored and is now used as a present day cemetery. Walking through it we found graves from long ago right next to new ones.
St. Kevin’s monastery
