The Ham Nomads

25 Jun 2014. <IE> Dublin —

Kilmainham Gaol - New Wing

Kilmainham Gaol
Old Wing
Corridor with
Easter Rising Cells

Went in to Dublin again this morning, but to different parts. Our first port of call was the Kilmainham Gaol. If you've seen the Daniel Day Lewis film "In the Name of the Father" you've seen part of the gaol, as some of the filming was done there. It has also featured in other movies! But the guided tour of the gaol was not as much a history of the gaol, but a history of the Irish rebellions, as many of the participants were imprisoned, and many executed, here. Ireland has had a sad history of suppression by the British, and our guide, for the best of reasons, had very strong sympathies with the Irish. For example, all seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, read from the steps of the Dublin GPO on Easter Monday, 1916, at the start of the Easter Rising, were executed by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol.

De Vallera's Cell

The war of Independence effectively ended with the declaration of a truce in 1921, which set up the Irish Free State, but which left Ulster still in the hands of the British (as Northern Ireland), and which forced all of Ireland to still swear fealty to the British crown. A Civil War ensued, between those who accepted the truce and those who didn't. Later the gaol was used as a prison during the Civil War (1922-24), by the Free State Army to imprison those who rebelled against the truce. The Gaol's last prisoner, at the end of the Civil War, was Éamon De Valera, who later became Taioseach (Prime Minister) and then President of Ireland. A lot of violent history, very recent, and very much involving Kilmainham Gaol.

We next went to the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History in the Collins Barracks on Benburb Street. Tying in with our earlier explorations, the property was originally granted to the 12th Duke of Ormond for him to build on it a palace and gardens. This was never done, however, and his grandson sold the property to the Government in 1704, and it was developed into a military barracks which, until 1922, were used as the British Army headquarters in Ireland, and from then it housed units of the Irish Army until 1994, when the Government decided to develop it into a museum. We went through its current exhibition of 1916 Rising history, as it tied in well with our earlier activities of the day.

We then went to the Jameson Distillery in the hope of getting to the top of its old smokestack for a good look around Dublin. Sadly, the property with the smokestack was sold off about 7 years ago, and the hotel that now owns it has closed down the lifts that operated up the outside of the smokestack. C'est la vie!

Spire of Dublin

Parnell Monument

We went in to O'Connell Street in town, just a short way east of where we were, and just north of where we were yesterday. Walked up to the Spire, now the symbol of Dublin. It is a spike — can't call it much else — 120m high, 3m in diameter at the base, tapering up to 15cm at the top. It's in O'Connell Street diagonally in front of the GPO, the site of the siege of the 1916 Easter Rising (and which still shows evidence of bullet holes from those days). A block north is the Parnell Monument, and a block further is the Garden of Remembrance.

It was starting to rain by now, so we adjourned to La Pizza in O'Connell Street for a pepperoni pizza washed down with coffee (Suzie) and wine (Warren). It was fun watching the tourists in the open-topped tour buses scattering for shelter. We then walked back down to Abbey Street, on the way looking quickly at Earl Street North, the start of the major shopping pedestrian precinct north of the River Liffey. After this, we decided to call it a day, and went back to our van. We wanted to do a little clothing shopping at Dunnes before settling into our spot for the night.

Earl Street North

Distance driven — today, 3 miles ( 5 km ); to date, 3,114 miles ( 5,012 km )