So today was our final day in Dublin and we had tickets to go to Kilmainham Gaol in the afternoon. Photos are on the albums page.
We checked out of the hotel and had a nice stroll around some bookshops and charity shops then stopped off for a coffee at Brother Hubbard’s. After that, we went for lunch at a nice cafe bar called Wuff. We each opted for the jerk chicken burger and it was delicious!
Onwards to Kilmainham now and we walked it so made sure we gave ourselves plenty of time and walked the majority of the way along the iconic River Liffey. The prison is by guided tour only and cost €8 each. If you are lucky enough to visit, make sure you book in advance as each tour is only small and it’s very popular! Anyway, using the word brilliant doesn’t seem quite right when describing the prison. It was interesting, eerie, fascinating, upsetting all rolled into one and we would highly recommend you visit if you ever go to Dublin. One part which was particularly hard to process was a letter written by an 18 year old boy to his mum the night before his execution. Won’t go into detail but I’m sure you can imagine it being quite upsetting. The other story which was hard to believe was about the execution of a man who was already dying with a shot to the leg. He was brought to the prison from hospital, taken through a gate to the execution yard and shot there and then. This obviously sparked a lot of public interest and there is now a cross on the spot where this happened.
Afterwards, we wanted to talk about everything we learned and what better way to do it than over a coffee? This time we stopped off at Urbanity and partnered it with a huge chocolate brownie! Yum!!
Airport bound now and we were happy when we realised that there was a bus stop just round the corner from our hotel. We already had a ticket and the journey was easy peasy.
All went well with the flight and finding Rigby (our car) was fine and dandy.
Home safe and sound now with our pyjamas on and sitting on the sofa.
Overall Verdict of Dublin: visit if you get the chance. People are very friendly and all of the architecture is beautiful, which makes just wandering around a pleasure in itself! The food and drink is just fantastic and there is, without doubt, something for everybody to enjoy. There are also shops a plenty and lots of things to do. We walked everywhere but the sightseeing bus was well serviced (and popular) and gets you to all of the main tourist spots which you can hop on and off at. Dublin is on the pricey side but worth every penny in our eyes!
We ❤ Dublin!