Dublin Day 2
Today we started with the Hop On/Off bus tour we had started yesterday. True to form we saw at least 3 of the green buses drive by before the yellow bus arrived at our stop. After sitting on the yellow bus for 20 minutes our tour resumed. We took an excellent ride through the Georgian part of the city to our eventual stop, Kilmainham Jail.
Kilmainham Gaol
The Kilmainham Gaol was first built in 1796 and was used for over 140 years as a prison. This is the site where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were held and executed. We took a guided tour that provided an excellent history to not only the prison but to Ireland and its fight for independance. In the prison there are 2 contrasting parts, the newer Victorian wing (seen above) and the old original prison (seen below).
The prison did not only house political prisoners, we found out that during the famine in the 1850’s as many as 9,000 people were held here in 1 year (not all at the same time). Considering there are only 112 cells that lead to some severe over crowding. An example of a crime it took during the famine to be imprisoned was stealing some loaves of bread to feed your family. This earned you 14 days in Kilmainham. But since food was so scarce during the famine many people committed crimes just to go to jail and get a meal for several straight days. The authorities also did not discriminate over who was held in the jail. Many woman and children were held prisoner some as young as 6.
Dublin Castle
After the jail we wandered over to Dublin Castle. As you can see this isn’t a typical structure when you think of the word castle. Above you can see the only reaming tower from the original castle built in 1204. The rest of the castle was destroyed in a fire during the 18th century and in it’s place a Georgian Palace was built. This in my mind makes the Dublin Castle not a true castle but a palace posing as a castle.
We took a guided tour of the palace which is where the British Viceroys and visiting monarchy lived until 1922 during the British rule of Ireland. The tour included the king’s bedchamber, the throne room and St. Patricks Hall. Formerly a ball room the hall is now where Irish presidents are sworn into office. At the end of the tour we were also taken to an excavated part of the palace where you could see more of the original structure and the part of the moat that used to surround the castle.
After the castle we wrapped up the day with a visit to the Irish National Museum. We saw some great old artifacts dating back thousands of years and the best part was it’s free! Overall we really enjoyed our second day in Dublin, even when I got us lost. We’re looking forward to hitting the country side tomorrow and I’m looking forward to driving a car from the other side of the road.
Now for something scary.
2 Comments
Scott on January 17th, 2009
Nice to see you finally got a photo of a leprechaun. About time.
Ken Hurd on January 15th, 2009
I’d already forgotten what a handsome devil you are!