Kilmainham Gaol (Irish: Príosún Chill Mhaighneann) is a former prison that is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed in the prison by the British.

 

Conditions at the prison were harsh, with no segregation of prisoners. Men, women and children were incarcerated up to 5 in a cell, with only a single candle for light and heat. Some were held here before transportation to Australia.

 

Pictured left is the interior of the prison courtesy of Tony Hisgett.

 

Fourteen leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were imprisoned and executed here. They were led to the courtyard on the mornings of May 1916, where they faced firing squads. Some claim that with such a gruesome history, it is of little surprise that the Gaol is haunted.

 

Various phenomena have been reported. These include lights turning on of their own accord, unnatural gusts of air, sounds of footsteps, and a sense of evil in certain areas.