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| Spiral staircase for prisoners |
Kilmainham Gaol was erected in 1796 and was infamous during it's time as a functional prison. Living conditions for prisoners were horrendous (most notably for women) and the youngest prisoner on record kept in the gaol was only 5 years old. Most famously, the leaders of the 1916 Easter Uprising were detained in Kilmainham and (most of them) were executed in the courtyard. James Connolly's death was particularly gruesome: in battle he was shot in the leg and was slowly dying of gangrene, at Kilmainham he was strapped to a chair and propped up half conscious to face his firing squad. Naturally, ghost stories and mysticism spring from the gaol's famous prisoner's and the cause they died for. As I walked the dank corridors there was no doubt about the spiritual energy, but haunt isn't the word I would choose. The air feels like static and the eyes of thousands of prisoners follow you into every cell and wing, wanting to tell you their stories.
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East Wing
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However, seeing as I'm not a ghost-whisperer, I bid the ghosts farewell and set my sights on the East Wing. I knew the famous wing from movies where it's been inaccurately used:
Michael Collins (1996),
In the Name of the Father (1993),
The Italian Job (1969), and various others. The attraction of the wing is the design: almost every cell can be seen from any point in the hall. There are straight staircases for the guards to run freely and briskly from one side to the other and spiral staircases are designated for prisoners because they can not be climbed quickly.
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| Stonecutter's Courtyard |
The last stop in Kilmainham was the Stonecutter's Yard, the execution sight of the gaol. The day was grey and bleak to begin with, but the courtyard would look like a graveyard anyway. It is built completely of stone slabbed together by manual labor and a simple wooden cross stands at either end of the yard, representing the exact sight of execution of the 1916 leaders. I felt solemn and breathed in the spirits of the somber place, a quiet thank you for the sacrifices made.
Was Kailmainum improperly used in Michael Collins? I forgot they used it in The Italian Job.
ReplyDeleteGood job summing up the history of a really unique place. I was hoping you'd mention, even with a very brief summary, some of the specific ghost stories there if you knew any. I think ghost stories are often our way of symbolizing how the past still continues to effect our present. I wonder if the ghost stories themselves generate another perspective on how the modern Irish view the Gaol.
You've got some tense shifts from past to present to watch out for, but I do like the immediacy and prescence that's generated from the present tense when it's used.
*presence
DeleteThe gaol appears in the film with the big fella in it, but he was actually held in England. I like the angle you take with this piece and would love to hear more 'ghost' stories about it. A furher walk through the museum would have provided some fodder.
ReplyDeleteFilms should not be mistaken for history or for actuality. Films exist to create an illusion about reality. Even documentaries do not have an unbiased eye. Just a note, everyone except one person said that Michael Collins was not executed because he was not recognized (the film MC) In fact, you were told that Countess Markievicz was the leader who was note executed because she was a woman. I told everyone; the guide at the gaol told everyone, yet everyone believed the film.
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