Kilmainham Gaol was built in 1796 on the south side of Dublin and held everyone from pe…

Kilmainham Gaol was built in 1796 on the south side of Dublin and held everyone from petty thieves and debtors to the most important political prisoners in Irish history. Its defining moment came in May 1916 when fourteen leaders of the Easter Rising were executed by firing squad in the Stonebreaker’s Yard over nine days. James Connolly was so badly wounded he couldn’t stand and was shot sitting in a chair. Joseph Plunkett married Grace Gifford in the prison chapel by candlelight the night before his execution. The Rising itself had been unpopular with most Dubliners, but the slow drip of executions turned public opinion entirely, and within five years Ireland had fought a war of independence. The gaol was abandoned in 1924, nearly demolished in the 1950s, and saved by volunteers who spent years clearing rubble and restoring it. Today it’s the most visited museum in Dublin, and standing in the yard where those fourteen men were shot is one of the most quietly devastating experiences in Ireland.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​