I confess that prior to coming to Ireland, my limited knowledge of Irish history consisted of only the great Irish potato famine in the mid 19th century that caused the massive influx of Irish immigrants in the east coast. Other than that, I knew nothing else.
So when we took a quick stroll around a local park in Dublin and saw the year 1916 and the Easter Rising referenced on practically every single monument we came across, I admit, I was lost. But after a few days, it all began to make sense.
Long story short, around Easter time on April 1916, Irish Republic staged an armed rebellion against the British rule. It failed. Over four hundred died, more than half of which were civilians. A group of Irish rebels were captured and executed.
Which brings us to Kilmainham Goal, the Alcatraz of Dublin. This was the jailhouse that imprisoned several of those said executed rebels. Amongst them were James Connolly, a leader of the Easter Rising. He was already dying of wounds sustained from the rebellion and had to be tied up to a chair for his execution. Below was his execution site.
Then there was Joseph Plunkett, another rebel leader who, upon receiving his death sentence, proposed right away to his sweetheart, Grace Gifford in a letter shown below.
If you can’t make out the writing, here’s what it says:
Darling Grace
You will marry me and nobody else. I have been a damned fool and a blind imbecile but thank God I see. I love you and you only and will never love anyone else.
Your lover
Joe
They got married seven hours before his execution.
Pretty sad stuff, but that’s what you can expect when visiting a historical prison. The Easter Rising and the resulting executions led to a lot of resentment from Irish civilians against the British government which eventually led to Ireland’s independence in 1921 and the split between Ireland and Northern Ireland. I should also mention that although the Irish Republic officially dissolved in 1922 after Ireland’s independence, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), to this day, still exists and still refuses to refuses to recognize Northern Ireland and is now considered a terrorist group by England.
Yay, history.
My name is Paolina 