Kilmainham Gaol is recognised as
being one of the largest unoccupied gaols in Europe. It
officially opened its doors in 1796 as an ordinary
county gaol, housing prisoners who had committed all
types of crimes both social and political.
In the course of its centuries old
history, Kilmainham has witnessed some of the most
significant events in Ireland's emergence as a modern
nation. Political prisoners such as the United Irishmen,
Charles Stewart Parnell and the 1916 Rising leaders were
all interned here during its long history, until its
closure in 1924.
