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Those Stairs!
Immediately recognisable, the central staircase in the Main Hall of Dublin’s infamous Kilmainham Gaol has appeared in a number of films, tv shows, and even a U2 music video since the massive prison was decommissioned by the Irish Free State government in 1924.
To me there was something surreal and troubling about watching Hugh Grant singing on the stairs of Kilmainham Gaol in pink-striped bell-bottoms.
It is a disturbing place: dark, cold, and in its day, severely overcrowded. Men, women and children were crammed in together, up to five in a small cell with only a single candle for light and heat. Everyday criminals were incarcerated alongside those who fought for Irish independence – starting with the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Kilmainham was called the ‘New Gaol’ when it was built in 1796 to replace an even older one. A preserved prison register lists crimes ranging from violent assault to stealing loaves of bread or apples from an orchard. The youngest registered offender was a seven-year-old child; many of the adults were transported to Australia and regular public hangings took place in front of the prison.
In the late 1700s, John Howard (1726 – 1790), whose name is still associated with prison reform and public health improvements, became High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. He was shocked by the squalid conditions and resultant outbreaks of ‘prison fever’ in the jails within his jurisdiction. He educated the public about the barbaric conditions, and, with the aid of his own personal fortune, helped implement changes.
In spite of his efforts, prisoners in Kilmainham continued to be held in terrible conditions. They spent much of their time in the freezing cold, as the chill air was believed to purify a corrupt spirit. The lime walls retained moisture but not heat, and the windy windows in the cells were too high to see through.
During the Great Famine (1845-1852), even a newly-opened women’s section became immediately overwhelmed. Later, the notorious jail became synonymous with the Irish War of Independence (1919–21), with many political prisoners confined in the cells, and fourteen leaders of the Easter Rebellion (1916) executed by firing squad.
Access to the prison is by guided tour only; although my visit was quite some time ago, on a suitably dark and rainy Dublin day, I still remember how emotional our guide was as he talked about The Troubles – and how distressed I felt looking at the cells in which people were kept.
Of course, Paddington 2 is not the only movie filmed on location in what is now a now a museum run by the Office of Public Works – an agency of the Government of Ireland – and its Main Hall is immediately recognisable.
Come for a tour:
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Jim Larkin
To maximise our time in Dublin, my husband and I had bought two-day Hop on/off bus passes. This gave us a bird’s eye view of some of the city landmarks. This bronze statue by Irish sculptor Oisin Kelly (1915 – 1981) depicts the founder of the Workers’ Union of Ireland, James Larkin (1874 – 1947), addressing the crowd.
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Almost Abstract – River Liffey Through Another Bus
Molly Malone
In Dublin’s Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel’d her wheelbarrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
We grew up singing this song about the fictional fishmonger who died of fever around 1699. The first published version of the folk song dates to 1884; the statue by Irish sculptor Jeanne Rynhart (1946 –2020), was created in 1988. Affectionately known as ‘The Tart with the Cart’, the bronze is a popular tourist stop.
The Bus Next Door
Guinness
We drive past the entrance to the Guinness Brewery Yard, where we had stopped for a tour the day before (see: Raise a Glass).
Main Entrance to Kilmainham Gaol
A short distance up the road, we come to the prison entrance. Above the doorway, the tangle of serpents, dragons, or demons, is said to represent the five most heinous crimes of rape, murder, theft, piracy, and treason.
Museum Displays
In 1958, the Kilmainham Gaol Restoration Society formed to preserve the building and develop a museum and art space.
Outer Door Key: 1807
Locks and Keys
‘Hard Labour’
An art gallery on the top floor of the museum exhibits paintings, sculptures, and jewellery created by prisoners from around the country.
Dr Shane Kenna
Employed by Ireland’s Office of Public Works, our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable.
Guarded Drainpipe
Every aspect of the old jail building is inhospitable.
Stealing Bread
“Examples of food-related crime …” All the display signage is in English and Irish Gaelic.
Catholic Chapel
In this chapel, Irish revolutionary leader Joseph Mary Plunkett married his fiancee Grace Gifford just hours before he was executed for his role in the 1916 Easter Rising. They were not permitted to speak during the ceremony, and Grace was allowed to spend only ten minutes in her husband’s prison cell under heavy supervision after the wedding.
Arched Corridor
The hallways in the older sections of the prison are dark – and cold.
Light the Darkness
These are the window inside the cell of Patrick Pearse – Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist, and revolutionary. A member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916, Pearse and fifteen other leaders, including his brother, were ultimately court-martialed and executed by firing squad.
Stripes of Paint – Texture in the Building
Another West Wing Corridor
Even as a visitor, this place feels grim! I can’t imagine what it would have been like as an inmate.
Main Hall
John McCurdy, freemason and official college architect of Trinity College Dublin, won an open competition to design a new section of jail in the late 1850s. In keeping with ‘modern’ Victorian principles, light was meant to inspire the inmates to look heavenward. The open design meant that all ninety-six cells could be seen from a central viewing area.
Through the Steps
Even that magnificent staircase allows views of the room.
Bricks around the Stonebreakers Yard
The cross marking the execution site of James Connolly for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising is hiding in the afternoon shadows.
Entry – Exit
It is a relief to re-emerge into the open air from the prison – through the same door we entered by.
“Proclamation” by Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie (1953 – )
Across the road from the prison, we find the permanent outdoor sculpture honoring the leaders of the Easter Rising. The faceless and blindfolded figures each display a bullet pattern corresponding to where they were hit by the firing squad.
Grim representations of troubled times …
We went for a walk to shake off some of the gloom – and found a nice pub for dinner and live music.
That’s Ireland!
Pictures: 08July2012
