jails historical ireland

With a special emphasis on history & culture, 19th Century crime, punishment and social history, a trip to Cork City Gaol is a must!

Go back in time and trace the life of a suffering prisoner. The impressive audio system allows you to hear the shuffling of prisoner’s feet, the coughs of the sick inmates and you can also examine the life like characters that fill the prison’s cells.

For the architect among you, the Gaol's layout is intriguing! The wo...

You are invited to relive The Court House Drama of being 'Sent Down' in the Bridewell of the 1830's. Follow the wretched life of Thomas Dillon as he is charged with wilful trespass. Spine chilling recreation with life size models.

YOU ARE SUMMONED TO STOP AND WITNESS....

This is a major new visitor attraction located in Wicklow town. A two million restoration plan has been carried out by Wicklow County Council to develop the old county Gaol.
There has been a Gaol on this site since 1702 and it remained active until 1924. During this time thousands of prisoners, young and old, men, women and children, guilty and innocent passed through its doors. The story of Wicklow's Historic Gaol is their story.
The exhibition covers such episodes as the 1...

Adjacent to Roscommon Castle is the massive building of solid stone, once the county jail. It was built in the 1740s. It is known for having a hangwoman "Lady Betty", a criminal who had her sentence for murder withdrawn on conditiion that she carried out the hangman's task without pay.
Roscommon jail was the scene of all the public hangings in the county.It later became a mental insitution, and then a refuge to treat small pox.

The old jail has now been dev...

Kilmainham Gaol is the largest unoccupied gaol on the island of Ireland. A tour of the facilities gives the visitor a dramatic and realistic insight into what it was like to be a prisoner in one of these strongholds of punishment and correction between 1796, when it opened, and 1924 when it closed.
The gaol has played a very important role in Irish history with the leaders of the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 being detained here. The leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising wer...