We first went to Trinity College to take a look at the Book of Kells. This was a holy book copied at a monastic site in Scotland. It's important because it is the most complete illuminated copy of holy books from the medieval period. Illuminated, just so you know, means that it was painted and including very fancy drawings. Sorry, no pictures were allowed.
After looking at the Book of Kells, we toured through the Library Hall.
There are lots of very old books in here.
Lorna was quite excited to be in such a grand library.
After Trinity College, we went to the Kilmainham Gaol, which was a jail built using what was considered prison reform in the late 18th century.
We had lunch at the cafe before our tour.
Lorna was quite happy to have some good Irish Breakfast Tea.
According to our guide, the prison operated on three principles: segregation, silence, and surveillance. Prior to the construction of this prison, prisoners were not segregated by type of crime, sex, or age. In the new prison, women were kept separate from men (although both were housed in this prison), and people who committed serious crimes were kept separate from those who committed petty crimes. However, it was a pretty rough life. Each prisoner was housed in his/her own cell (at least in theory) and were required to maintain complete silence. There was to be no oral communication between prisoners, so they developed their own morse code. Even exercise was to be done in silence. Exercise consisted of (literally) walking in circles in total silence. Finally, prisoners were supervised and surveilled at all times. In the older parts of the jail, there were two holes in every door through which the jailor could see the prisoner. There was absolutely no privacy at all. It was cold and by today's standards, inhumane.
Marcos standing in the newer part of the prison. This was constructed based on Jeremy Bentham's idea of the panoptican. From the walkway you see directly ahead, a jailor could see in every cell.
The prison primarily housed the average criminal but it was made famous by the many political prisoners held and executed here. These included a bunch of politicians who were treated better than the average prisoner. In fact, the authorities moved all of the other prisoners out for the 8 months that the politicians were kept here. The most famous political prisoners were the leaders of the 1916 rebellion who were also executed by firing squad on site.
This prison has been used in many movies, which helped raise the money for its initial restoration.
After the jail, we headed to the tourism office to get some information and then headed to Phoenix Park.
Lorna looking at the map of the park.
Phoenix Park is the largest public park in Europe. And it is big. Bigger than Central Park by far. Our initial intention was to head to a garden show and festival that the lady at the jail cafe told us about. However, the size of the park and the size of the entrance fee (€30 per person/ ~$40 per person) persuaded us to head back to town. Nevertheless, we still got lost and really only saw the outskirts of the park. Next time, we take a taxi.
Tired and with sore feet, we headed back to our hotel to rest.
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