We started out the day with a tour of Kilmainham Gaoul. This was a very famous prison in Dublin from the very late 1700's until the mid 1920's. During the time it housed military, political, and various other prisoners. These people could have committed serious crimes for simply stealing a piece of bread. They were women, men, and even young children. During the uprising in the early 1900's that lead to Ireland's fight for independence, it housed most of the political prisoners that had been involved in that uprising. In the mid 1900's it was abandoned and fell into disrepair until it was taken over by the state. Today it is a beautiful building that is often said to be where Ireland's independence was founded.
The Main Jail
We then headed back into the city to see St. Patrick's Cathedral. Interestingly enough it was founded mostly by Mr. Guinness himself. Seems the Guinness family did much to help out the city of Dublin when it fell onto hard times. Also, Jonathan Swift was dean of this church and spent much of his time while writing Gulliver's Travels in Dublin. The church had beautiful examples of stained glass, marble flooring, and stonework all through it. The stones included one that was uncovered from St. Patrick's well. It is believed to be from 800 BC.
From there Stevie and I saw The Book of Kells. It was a beautiful handdone manuscript of the first 4 books of the old testament that monks rewrote thought colorful, ornate, pictures that represent the exact wording that the bible uses.
We decided to forgo the ghost tour and hope to do one in County Kerry. We thought a good night's sleep and some packing so we could be off tomorrow at a decent time was a better idea.
That is all from County Dublin, I will be writing tomorrow from County Kerry.
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