Kilmainham Jail

Very very interesting! It was fascinating to able to step back in time and gave me a real perspective. It’s also very reasonable and I like the fact that it’s not have a massive re-furb and lost it’s charm, like some historical places of interest.

went there as a kid on a school trip it was a great day

Kilmainham jail is still an imposing and haunting building. Makes for an excellent morning or afternoon. The tour guides are passionate about what they do and have in-depth knowledge about the jails history and former inmates.
A must-see attraction for anybody interested in Irish history.

there's not much too add to all the previous positive reviews. I visited Kilmainham in 2008 and the experience has left a profound affect on me. So much so, that I intend to return as soon as I can get back to Dublin. I'm an avid reader of Irish history anyway, particularly the struggle for independence, so to see Pearce's handwriting etched in a corridor alcove and to stand on the spot where the martyrs of 1916 were executed was deeply moving.

For my (then) 11 year old daughter the part that stayed with her was the guide explaining how one inmate in the mid 19th century was a child sent there for eating a landlord's grass during The Famine...

The guide was informative (and fantastically patient with irritating tourists! ) and the tour was so reasonably priced it has to be on anyone's list. I can't recommend a visit highly enough.

Definitely would recommend this visit. A must see and a great history place in Dublin. Tour was done by a very entertaining guide, would highly recommend anyone English speaker to go there !

Such a worthwhile visit. Really enjoyed it. Would recommend it to tourists and nationals alike

One of the places in Dublin where you can get an authentic taste of Irish history, mostly due to the award-winning tour you need to take to see the prison from the inside. There is a small museum-part, but the tour is the real thing. All guides are very decent people and are willing to answer almost every question you may have about the history of the prison and the events that brought people here, like the 1798 rebellion or the Easter Rising 1916.

Due to it's mostly tragic history, Kilmanhain Gaol appeals both to tourists and Irish people, so you get a pretty diverse group of visitors here. In my opinion, Kilmanhain Gaol should be on top of any tourists itinerary, even before the Guinness Storehouse.

Anyone Irish or with Irish heritage simply must see this place in order to understand the history of the island more. For a tiny fee you get an in-depth tour and wonderful video presentation and a fantastic museum as well as immersing yourself in the confines of the prison, which really gives you a sense of the past like no other place I've been. Highly recommended + go today.

Kilmainham Gaol is a must-see when you're in Dublin. It's easily accessible for tourists within the city centre. I don't think this old, unoccupied prison really gets the amount of recommendations it should and is highly under-rated. It's so spooky, so educational, and eye-opening. It takes you into a world of the past. When you stand inside one of the cells, you can feel a shrill recollection of what it may have felt like to be standing there 100 years ago. It's truly a fascinating opportunity. The tour guides are open to every question you may have and are very knowledgeable. It's a great place to devote your day to; excellent value for your money, and an experience you will never forget.

This place is spooky, entertaining and informative in equal measure. The tour guides are excellent, the price is good value and it tells a story that is just incredible. Anyone with an interest in the Irish struggle for independence will love the unique insight offered by this behind the scenes look. No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, standing in the yard where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were shot is an incredibly sobering experience. The moment you step inside the gates prepare to step back in time.

Kilmainham Gaol, if you are anyway Irish, and loved the film, with Liam Nelson playing one of my greatest heros in Irish History 'Michael Collins’.,then you have to visit Kilmainham Gaol. It is now a muesum and Visitor Centre. Tours are held daily. The tour guides know the history of the place. The execution yard, has an erie feel to it. Men ere executed there in the fight to give Ireland its Freedom. Long Live Ireland.

i have visited kilmainham once and i have to say i was in awe of the place.
i learned so much about the history of ireland, more so than i would have done in school. it’s reasonable priced and easy to get to, and when your inside and let your thoughts roam…it just gives you a better understanding of what things where like back then. and the stories your told as you go around the place, just takes you back to a time in ireland when things where so different from today!!!
i would definitly recommend this place to anyone who likes history!

Kilmainham Gaol is one of the most remarkable “tourist attractions” in Ireland - and possibly even in the world. Most of us will never get the opportunity to see inside a prison and experience the conditions of a Victorian facility like this one, and the stories and fascinating characters which inhabited these walls are something which should not be missed.

Kilmainham Gaol is one of the largest uninhabited jails in Europe. It was opened in 1796 as one of the 'new jails’ which opened following social research into prison reform. Previously to this date criminals were held in large rooms all together and each facility just became a school for crime. Kilmainham is built in the same principals and design as London prisons of the time such as Pentonville, with a central atrium and corridors with individual cells along them. (As my flatmate commented - just like Bad Girls!).

Kilmainham has been a set for many films and television shows in recent years, including the Tudors series. There are two parts to the prison - the first area you visit is the oldest part of the prison where men, women and children often slept in the corridors due to overcrowding. Here are cells which held some of the most famous men and women of Irish History - those involved in the 1916 rebellion.

The museum itself costs 6 euros and consists of a small musuem which explains the social history of the prison reform movement, the politics of the Irish/English “war” and a fascinating exhibition of the last letters and belongings of some of the most famous men and women who were executed here. The tour is the only way to view the prison, and our tour guide was wonderful. She reallu brought to life the stories of the people who were incarcerated here - often for small crimes like theft of food during the Famine. We attended the museum after the tour and I think this is the best way to do it as the stories of the men and women imprisoned really made the information relevant.

The museum is owned by the Office of Public Works but before this has obviously been previously in some disrepair as there is much graffiti, and the parts open to the public are minimal compared to it’s size. There are also aspects which in my opinion have been unecessarily restored such as the cells have been painted, and the painting of the madonna and chold done by Grace Gifford while she had been a prisoner had flaked off the wall and been replaced with an image. There is no 'museum’ ness about the jail, with information or exhibits, and even in the museum section it is hard to read some of the old letters as they are not 'translated’ into text - you have to read the faded handwriting behind glass.

Kilmainham Gaol is something I would encourage everyone to visit, it is a truly fascinating experience, it’s just a shame that one of Irelands National Monuments has fallen into such disrepair and had not been more sensitively treated.

I have visited Kilmainham Gaol three times - each time I have been to Dublin - and I would still love to go there again. From the minute you meet your guide to the minute you leave, you will encounter a huge range of emotions. You may recognise the main hall of the prison from films but, until you visit yourself, you cannot begin to imagine the conditions people lived in or experience the emotion of the execution of the Easter Rising leaders. The crosses in the courtyard and the Irish flag flying are so poignant ….... The excellent exhibitions can be explored at your leisure but you need to join a guided tour to go around the Gaol itself.

I highly recommend this attraction - it can be reached easily by bus from Dublin city centre or by going on the Dublin City Bus Tour.

What in interesting tour you get here. You get to learn so much information about Ireland history without it feeling like a history lesson - well worth it.
You learn that during the famine people committed crimes just so they could be sent to gaol so they would be guarenteed to be fed !!
Well worth a trip.

This Jail now turned museum is a very moving place (this may be because of my heritage) If you have an interest in History or even just interested in the Irish heritage, a visit to this museum is a must. Kilmainham Gaol is an old Irish prison where revolutionaries were held & executed during British rule in Ireland. As such, it holds a place in many an irish persons heart.
The tour of the jail takes you around the cells where prisoners were kept and you can even view the handwritten records from the jail & courthouses. The grounds have an eeryness about them and this is compounded when you learn what actually happened there.
Kilmainham Gaol closed its doors to prisoners many years ago but the prison itself has been used in many films such as Michael Collins & In the Name of the Father.
Kilmainham Gaol is on many of the Dublin Bus routes and is also one of the stops on the guided tour bus (you get a discount on the entry price if you have a dublin bus tour ticket)

Fantastic and fascinating. Obviously quite moving stories and able to see appalling conditions. Just a short bus trip from the city centre. Great value and very good tour guide. Nice warm cafe also! :)

A fantastic piece of Irish history. The guides are well informed and friendly. The tour itself covers most of the gaol and afterwards there are several exhibitions you can wander through.

One of the most amazing places i have ever visited, the guides were amazingly knowledgeble on both occasions that ive visited, sad stories but memorable, would go back again! also went into the court next door which is free…