Day 4

On this day, our group actually visited Kilmainham Gaol (created in 1796, and the site of many Irish rebels’ imprisonment and execution). Kilmainham is an imposing, intimidating, and relentless structure which conjured images of primitive torture and inhumane conditions. On our tour of Kilmainham, we were led by another fabulous and informative guide. The guide explained to us that Kilmainham was Ireland's first reform style prison. In previous forms of prisons, prisoners were all held together in one room. Of course, housing prisoners without separation created an extremely chaotic environment. The purpose of the reform style implemented by Kilmainham was to separate prisoners one per cell. This way, order could be better maintained within the prison.

Despite Kilmainham's attempt to reform the prison system, the Potato Famine suffered in the mid 19th century disrupted the theory behind the reform prison movement. During this time, conditions were so dire in Ireland with potato crops rotting in the ground and individuals desperately foraging for grass or other subsistence that people began to commit crimes openly and voluntarily have themselves imprisoned just to have a roof over their heads and a warm meal to eat. The potato blight was compounded by Britain's laissez faire economic policy. Our guide used the example of Holland who went through a similar experience with failed crops around the same time. Holland's government responded to their food problem by importing cornmeal products from South Asian countries in order to provide a stop gap for their people until their crops came back. On the contrary, the British government did nothing to aid the Irish colony, believing that the free market would solve the problem and that government intervention was not the answer. Furthermore, Kilmainham's prison population expanded again in 1850 when Australia refused to continue accepting prisoners. All of this made for crowded jail cells and poor conditions for prisoners, making it impossible to put the intended prison reforms into practice.

In order to accommodate the influx of prisoners, Kilmainham made an addition which was by far the most impressive room of the jail. The room was a huge expansive open room three story room with jail cells lining the walls at the parameter of the room.



The room was illuminated by the massive solar window built into the ceiling. The guide explained that the window had a dual purpose, to stave off diseases caused by a lack of sunlight and to draw the prisoners' attention to the heavens above so that they might repent for their sins. After viewing the main room of the prison, the guide led the group outside in order to show us the prison's brick-wall-lined yard. This was the area where the 15 Easter Rising leaders were executed via firing squad. Also notably, the original signatories of the Proclamation of the Republic of Ireland in 1916, including James Connolly and Joseph Plunkett, were executed there as well.

Imagining myself as a prisoner at Kilmainham Jail, I might have been a political dissident accused of treason during the Easter Uprising. Only if the British courts chose not to execute me would I be sentenced to only 25 years for such a crime. My day-to-day existence would be predicated on how crowded the jail would be, how the guards might be feeling that day, and the mercy of the British courts. Kilmainham has been, thus far, my favorite stop on the trip.