Day 2 Dublin Kilmainham Jail and Glasnevin Cemetery

Today was our first full day in Dublin.  We were up early after falling asleep so early the night before.  We headed down to breakfast at around 6:45 am.  We'd added breakfast to our room for 24 Euros a day for all 4 of us,  we figured it would be easier than heading out to find a place to eat each morning.  When we got downstairs we found that the breakfast was a full buffet.  Ali and I were both really hungry because neither of us ate dinner the night before.  The buffet was a nice selection of hot items, baked goods, and fruit.

After breakfast we headed back to the room and got ready for the day.  Our main goal of the day was to visit Kilmainham Jail.  This was my number one must do in Dublin.  You can't book a tour ahead of time and the only way to visit is on a guided tour.  The wait can be long and I have a feeling the crowds are even higher this year with the anniversary of the 1916 uprising.  We arrived before it opened and a short line had formed.  We were told that we'd be in the second tour of the day and we were happy with that.  Our tour started at 10:00 which gave us some time to explore the museum.  We purchased a Heritage card at the museum.  It was 60 Euros for a family card and it would cover our entrance to Kilmainham and several other sites that we'd be visiting.

Waiting outside at Kilmainham

The museum was small but interesting.  The first floor gives information about the history of the jail with the second floor being more specific about the role the jail played in Irish history.  There are some interesting letters and artifacts to read and look at.

The tour starts in the chapel and then moves to the oldest part of the jail.  I can tell you that being in jail in the early 1800's was no treat.  The conditions were terrible.  Sadly, when the famine happened in the 1840s people were committing crimes to be sent to jail because jail was better than starving to death on the streets.  The jail housed men, women, and children.  All inmates were mixed together.

We then went to the part of the jail where the leaders of the 1916 rising were held.  It was fascinating to hear the stories of the men and the woman who were housed in those cells.  We learned a lot about the rising and how people felt about it.  The tour was a huge Irish history lesson and it was fascinating!

I bet you've seen this in some movies!

The tour ends in the yard where the leaders of the 1916 rising were executed.  It was a very somber place as  it should be.

I can't recommend this tour enough, I had very high expectations going in and the tour met all my expectations.  It isn't a happy feel good tour but you wouldn't expect a tour of a jail to be.  The tour was serious but extremely interesting.  Those walls definitely have a lot of stories to tell!

After our tour it was time for lunch so we headed to a restaurant that had been recommended on Trip Advisor.  The restaurant is in the Temple Bar area.  This part of town is well known for it's pubs, restaurants, and party atmosphere.  When we arrived we could tell we were in a busy part of town.  We quickly found the restaurant and they told us we were in luck because they'd just had a cancellation and we could have a table in 30 minutes.  We had no idea we needed a reservation so we were pleased that the wait was only 30 minutes.  We did a little exploring down the street while we waited for our table.

Temple Bar

Our lunch at Elephant and Castle was excellent!  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal.  Three of us had breakfast items and Ali had mini burgers.  I ordered a mimosa and was told that they couldn't serve alcohol on Sundays until 12:30 but they snuck it to me a few minutes early.  We were seated by one of the front windows and it was fun to people watch.  Temple Bar was busy on Sunday morning with people heading out with suitcases, I would guess that people were heading home after spending St. Patrick's Day weekend in Dublin.

Cute little hamburgers that Ali ordered

Restaurant

After our excellent lunch we caught a bus and headed to Glasnevin Cemetery.  A jail and a cemetery, sounds like a gloomy day right?  Actually it was a super interesting day!  I had read recommendations of Glasnevin Cemetery online and despite it getting great reviews I was on the fence about visiting.  That was until my dad told me that my great-aunt who I met on my first trip in 1985 was buried there.  When I found that out I immediately booked a tour of the cemetery.  We arrived about an hour early for our tour, I was hoping to find my great-aunt's grave before the tour so that when the tour was over we could head back to the hotel.

We checked in early for our tour and inquired about finding out a plot number for my great aunt to make it easier to find the grave in this huge cemetery.  The lady at the desk was extremely busy checking people in for the 1:30 tour so she didn't have time to help me right then.  We wandered down to the museum and I was able to find the plot number using the cemetery's website.  A bit later we headed back to the front desk and it was a lot less busy so the person at the desk was able to show me where to go to find the plot.

Once we had a map it was very easy to find.  My great-aunt was a nun and the order she was part of has a small section at the cemetery.  We bought some flowers on our way to visit.  When we found the spot we left the flowers and took some pictures for my dad.  I chatted with the kids a bit to make sure they understood how she was related to them and I told them a few stories about her.  Both kids were genuinely happy that we found it and that they got to visit.  Connor later said it was his favorite part of the day because he really felt like it would make his grandpa happy that we visited.  Not bad coming from a rather selfish 13 year old!

We met for our 2:30 tour and the group was huge!  We were told right away that they'd be breaking us up into smaller groups.  We all started out at the grave of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rassa who was one of the founding members of the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood), this was the site where in 1915 Patrick Pearse stepped out of the crowd to give a famous speech in support of Irish Independence.  We listened to an actor give the same speech that Patrick Pearse gave that day.  It was a nice fit with our tour in the morning because just 9 months after Patrick Pearse gave that famous speech he was executed at Kilmainham Jail following the 1916 Easter Rising.

The tour at the cemetery was about 90 minutes long.  Our tour guide was amazing.  He added in a bit of humor when appropriate and we learned even more Irish history.  I never thought I could enjoy a cemetery tour nearly as much as I did.  I would highly recommend the tour and it was a nice fit after spending the morning at Kilmainham.

We headed back to the hotel after the tour and spent a bit of time resting our feet.  We decided to go to dinner at the Italian restaurant down the street that we never made it to the night before.  The restaurant is just a couple of minutes away from the hotel.  We all ordered pizza and it was excellent!

Today was definitely a success!  We truthfully couldn't have hoped for a better day.