On Thursday, we walked to Kilmainham Gaol and had a fascinating tour of this old historic jail. As part of the tour, we learned more of the history of Ireland's emergence as a modern nation (from the 1780s to the 1920s - a history intimately connected with the Kilmainham Gaol.
Our wonderful tour guide told us about the era of prison reform where prisons were reconfigured to keep inmates housed separately instead of in group settings. We learned about some of the various "rebellions" of the Irish people as they attempted to free themselves from English rule and the subsequent jailing (and executions) of the rebels.
Finally, this jail, that was built for approximately 140 people, surged to a population of over 9000 during the Potato Famine years when men, women, and children were thrown into jail for stealing a loaf of bread or turnips from a field in order to try and feed their family.
The execution of several of the rebel leaders of the Easter Sunday, 1916 uprising was the catalyst that finally led to Ireland's independence in 1921. We learned a lot on this very interesting tour.
After our tour, we walked to a nearby park for lunch and then explored the north side of the river.
Later in the afternoon, I was feeling in need of a good dessert, so we found a place called Queen of Tarts where we stopped for coffee and dessert before heading back to our apartment to make dinner.
After dinner, we headed back out to O'Neil's Pub where we heard some excellent Irish music - in my opinion, the best we've heard so far.
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