Kilmainham Jail might well be either a dilapidated ruin or a functioning prison if it wasn’t for its links to extraordinary historical events in Irelands fight for Independence. Leading republican players in the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1876 were fated to spend time within its walls. Since its completion in 1978 and its closure after the 1924 war of independence, it has ensured Kilmainhams place as the “Bastille of Ireland”, one of Irelands most important modern political monuments.

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Many hundreds of women were involved in the Easter Rising, either hiding rebels or taking up arms themselves. Due to the nature of a divided country after the war of Independence maybe histories were either lost or covered up. The only other concrete evidence apart from the scarce letters and stories passed on by family members are the words prisoners left on the walls of Kilmainham Jail which are slowly and unavoidably succumbing to the damp.

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This is a place where both the Easter rising heroes were executed and the internment of the “Irregulars” caused a deep source of discomfort for the Free State government. It was decided to close the jail down. Kilmainhams final prisoner Eamon DeValera released in July 1924 and Irelands first future president was a fitting end to such a political hotspot. Its doors remained locked for nearly thirty years until its restoration in the 80s when its gates and history were reopened to the public.