Kilmainham Gaol — Attraction in Dublin

This site is such an integral part of Ireland's history and its development that it really is a must-see in Dublin.

First- tickets. Hands up, I was caught out too and didn't realize they only go on sale a month before and sell out quickly. If you have missed out- on the day you want to visit, try at approx 9.15 as they release tickets (availability was pretty good too with a range of times all day). They are strict with the start time so try not to schedule things too tightly.

The tour itself starts in the courthouse building. There isn't a tour of this section so do have a look around (don't miss the plaque upstairs in the cafe). Alongside the cafe, there's a gift shop and some exhibits on the jail as well. They ask you to be in the main courthouse area 5 minutes before the tour starts and they'll do a ticket check before meeting your guide by the modern holding cells.

Tours go every 15 minutes so the tours are quite tightly scheduled. Our guide was great, amazing projection and very knowledgeable. She made it interesting and balanced history with the more personal stories which was great. You start in the chapel with a quick run through the background information before going through the oldest cell blocks and into the Victorian one. Then it's outside into the yards before finishing at the front of the prison.

There's also a museum however if you're on the last tours of the day it may well be closed when you finish so I think they allow you to go in before the tour starts. It's worth taking the time to look around the museum, there's lots to see and some really quite personal mementoes which are...

I'm not entirely certain why jails are such good tourist destinations but this one is up there with some of the best. Although it ceased to be a jail decades ago, it has the historical connections that are still so closely linked to current politics. It was here that many Irish freedom fighters were imprisoned and those deemed responsible for the Easter uprising in 1916 were executed.

The regime here during Victorian times was harsh with futile hard labour used to break prisoners' resolve. Although there were interventions by penal reform groups it's hard to see past the severe environment and extremely basic living conditions. That said, during the famine years, many tried to get in here as it meant they would be fed. Of course, many were also sent to the colonies for relatively minor offences. The more recognisably Victorian part of the jail is a panoptic design which looks remarkable from an architectural perspective. Every cell can be observed from a single point, there is daylight through a glass roof and there is a huge central space. This contrasts massively with the dungeon like passages and heavy stone cells of the older parts used to house the nationalists in solitary. Tour starts in a courtroom and is by guide only. Our guy was very eloquent and passionate about historical events in the jail and he really wanted to make sure we understood the impact they had in Ireland and Britain at the time and how that still lives on today. He had plenty of jokes as well so don't worry but this is one of the best ways to try and make sense of modern...

The gaol is on the outskirts of the city centre. We opted to walk there but I think most people would find this a bit far.

We arrived a little early and were allowed to visit the cafe and toilets and also wander around the courthouse.

Once our tour started we were warned that the gaol would be quite cold due to the thick walls, damp and lack of heating. They were right.

We were handed over to our tour guide, Michael, who led us into the chapel and gave us a background on the jail and the types of prisoners that it was designed to hold. It's quite shocking when you find out the inhabitants and their crimes.

We learned out the conditions the prisoners were kept in, how this changed over the life of the institution and some of the famous inmates that were incarcerated there. We also learned about those that rose up against the British to create an independent Ireland and their capture, trial and execution.

You really get a feel for what it would have been like to stay there, and it wasn't pleasant, and we were only passing through. The Victorian wing of the prison is stunning to look at even though it was designed to have a different impact on its residents.

We also got to learn about how the inmates had to do hard labour with some tasks having no purpose other than to pass the time.

The tour finishes at the newly built museum which covers the history in more detail and has a large number of artefacts.

This is a must for anyone who...