Visit Cork: Cork City Gaol

During February half term we visited Southern Ireland, staying in three different areas to experience as much of the county as possible. During our first few days, staying at the River Lee Hotel, we braved Storm Dennis to visit Cork City Gaol, an attraction we had heard wonderful things about.

Cork City Gaol is one of Cork’s most historical landmarks, opened in 1824 and hailed as being “the finest in 3 kingdoms”. It housed both male and female prisoners who committed crimes within the city boundaries until 1923 when the doors were closed once and for all. In 1993 the gaol reopened as a visitor attraction and it still remains as one of Cork’s most popular attractions.

With us visiting in the depths of Storm Dennis, we were unable to explore the outdoor areas and yet luckily, other than the grounds, everything is inside making it a fantastic attraction for rainy days and colder weather.

You can either explore the Gaol with an audio guide or a paper guide from reception and, with us having the children, we went for the latter. The children also had quiz sheets which are always great for holding their attention and helping them to get as much from the visit as possible. As we entered the Gaol the children loved seeing the wax like figures who greeted us!

Each  location is labelled clearly on the map with a paragraph to tell you about each person or area. It was so interesting to read more about life in the 19th century and see how the Gaol was run and really liked that it appealed to both adults and children equally.

In the 1870’s the West Wing was remodelled into a brighter, more spacious double-sided cell wing and the architecture is actually very beautiful. With a high arched. hallway and catwalks on either side giving access to the cells, it’s difficult to associate such an impressive building with the horrors that lay within.

As we followed the map from one cell to the next the children enjoyed seeing who was inside, what crime they had committed, and what their sentence had been. It’s crazy to think that many were locked up for offences such as obscene language, or simply being drunk!

There is a cell where the children can go inside, close the door, and imagine what it was like to be imprisoned within the Gaol. “This bed isn’t very comfy!” Megan told us, “They don’t even have a duvet!”.

I found it very interesting to learn more about those who had been jailed for political beliefs,  reading their stories and their pioneering crusades to make changes regardless of whether they would be jailed or not. It was a great lesson for my girls to see that Girl Power was around way before the 90’s!

Harry particularly loved the wax models of the guards and learning more about the life of a governor. Some of the wax models are a little scary looking so it’s worth being aware if you have younger children or those of a nervous nature!

We spent around 40 minutes just exploring the West Wing, reading every information point and looking in every cell. From there you can move throughout rest of the Gaol into different areas shown on the map and take as much or as little time as you wish.

From the West Wing we explored the Guards Quarters to see how different it was for the staff as opposed to the prisoners. Again, with the use of wax models it was interesting to build a picture of life back in the 19th century and how the gaol would have been run.

 There are various exhibitions throughout the gaol with. newspaper articles to show historical events within Cork and the gaol. I really enjoyed reading these and the children  were excited to see some of the old artefacts or play quiz games which you can find throughout the exhibitions.

Of course it wouldn’t be a gaol without old wooden stocks and the children were excited to have a photograph in them. It was also interesting to see a model of the Gaol and appreciate just how innovative the design was for its time.

It’s no surprise that the children were fascinated to learn more about the punishments used within the prison, however gruesome some them sounded! I had no idea that such methods were used to punish prisoners, especially those who were just children, and I think we all learned so much from our visit.

With the weather getting worse outside we were so grateful to have so much to see indoors and, even after a couple of hours, we were relieved to find there was still so much more to see.

My favourite part of the gaol was the staging of a trial where the judge was projected onto the wall and wax models were used to act out the trial. Parts of the gaol  are a little eerie and this part especially is dimly lit which again may be a little unsettling for young or timid children. I noticed our three sat very close to me throughout!

Once you explored the gaol you can then go upstairs to The Radio Museum, an ode to the Broadcasting Station which was once located in the Gaol, housing a small collection of radios, exhibits on communication, Marconi and a reconstruction of the original Cork 6CK Studio.

The Radio Museum is small but packed with information and we thought it was a great way to end our visit by learning a little more about the history of Cork and the City Gaol itself.

We spent a lovely morning at the Gaol and would definitely recommend a visit for anyone local or visiting the area. I love attractions such as this which are undoubtedly fun, but also hugely educational too.

For anyone wanting to know more, buy tickets or plan your visit your can visit the website here. I’ll be sharing Cork’s best family attractions on the blog over the coming week so be sure to stay tuned!