Kilmainham Gaol

Vast, historic prison that tells the story of the Easter Rising
Word to the wise: The tours fill up fast, especially during peak season.

Talk of the town: The gaol's hall was a location in the film 'The Italian Job'.
Anyone with even the faintest interest in Irish history should make the journey to the country's most famous jail, located 3.5 kilometres west of Dublin's city centre.

It was in this vast, bleak 18th century fortress that many of the Easter Rising rebels were held and executed, and when the gaol was finally closed in 1924, there were plans for the building to be demolished. However, a campaign grew to preserve this key player in the story of Irish nationalism and the complex was eventually restored and reopened, its dank corridors and cells looking much as they did in Victorian times.

Access to Kilmainham Gaol is by guided tour only, which is included in the admission fee and takes about an hour. In winter, be sure to bring a coat - it gets chilly in there.