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DAY EIGHT: DUBLIN -- REBELLION & CIVIL WAR
Kilmainham Jail (10 am-noon)
Seminar: Discussion of Independent Ireland (3:00 pm-6:00 pm)
Read Irish Experience Chap. 12-14, packet of Irish biographies
Peacock Theatre "The Hunt for Red Willie" (8:15 pm)
Inside Kilmainham Gaol (Jail)
The main stairway; the jail
was used in the movie "In the Name of the Father."
Back hallway...the jail was
supposedly a model of a reformed jail, as there were windows to let in sunlight.
But prisoners were only allowed out of their cells 1 hour each day and the jail
was often filled beyond capacity due to the large amount of political prisoners
the British imprisoned.
The Chapel...ever wonder why
they say that the Irish have long memories? One of the leaders of the 1916 Uprising
was engaged before being thrown in jail; he was allowed to marry his love, have
a last meal with her, and spend 10 minutes alone before he was executed. This
is the Chapel in which they married and Kelly and someone else are sitting down.
The hallway in which the leaders
of the 1916 Uprising were imprisoned. Maybe a ghost caused the blurring of the
light?
The courtyard where the gallows
used to be located. The youngest prisoner was an 8 year old girl that was sentenced
to 5 months for stealing a lady's coat. The youngest child was a 6 year old boy
that was imprisoned with his family. No children were ever executed at Kilmainham.
An exercise yard
Yes, that is a boat. During
WWI, Irish Nationalists looked to the Germans to supply them with guns. They felt
that the Germans were heading down the right path, away from the tyranny of the
British and that way of life. Well the Irish never received the guns; when the
Germans saw the British approaching, they scuttled the ship. I think this was
the Asgard, but don't quote me on it =) That's Ryan, Cindy, Amy and Nicole listening
to the tour guide.
The Irish flag; the three colors
symbolize Ireland and were used for the first time during the Uprising, when the
nationalists took over the GPO and held it for 6 days in 1916. The green symbolizes
the Irish nationalists (usually Catholics), the Orange the Anglo-Irish (usually
Protestants) and the white symbolizes peace.
The cross stands where the
majority of the executions took place. One man (James Connelly) had been wounded
in the fighting and was taken to Dublin Castle, where they tried to make him feel
better. When the bullet wound to the leg didn't improve within 5 days, the British
took him to the jail, tied him in a chair, and exectued him as well. The executions
turned a normally apathetic nation towards nationalism.
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