In previous blogposts a post walk day and a half in Dublin. I considered many options…ok a ridiculous number…however in the end went with:
Afternoon May 23rd - Kilmainham Gaol
The Kilmainham Gaol website has the following summary description.
From Prison to National Monument
“Kilmainham Gaol opened in 1796 as the new County Gaol for Dublin. While most of the prisoners were common criminals, it also held political prisoners involved in Ireland’s struggle for independence. Included amongst those held here were Robert Emmet, Anne Devlin, the Fenians, Charles Stewart Parnell, Countess Markievicz and the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, 14 of whom were executed by firing squad in the Stonebreaker’s yard. The Gaol was closed in 1924 but was preserved as a national monument in the 1960s and restored by the Kilmainham Gaol Restoration Committee. It was handed over to the State in 1986 and today is run by the Office of Public Works.”
John was very very supportive with my choice to visit the Kilmainham Gaol as he saw it as an ideal way to get a sense of Irelands past including its fight for independence. “It will be a powerful experience Guy”
The Kilmainham Gaol visit was extremely well presented by our guide…very informative…to stand outside the cells where Irish leaders were held and subsequently executed in the Stonebreaker’s yard causes one to really stop and reflect.
I would encourage anyone visiting Dublin to visit the Kilmainham Gaol however keep in mind the tickets are very tough to come by…described in my May 12, 2025 blogpost.
Here are a few pictures:
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| Unique design adopted by other jails where guards on main level can monitor 96 cells from a central location |
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| Individual cells where prominent political prisoners were kept before moving to a larger room on the night prior to execution |
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| Stonebreaker’s Yard - The wall where 14 men from the 1916 Irish uprising were lined up individually and shot by 12 guardsmen 6 kneeling and 6 standing up |
May 24th - Bray Celtic Coastal Walk
I debated many alternatives for my “day off” 😉 in Dublin. There are clearly so many historical and other ways to experience this interesting city. In the end I knew what I really wanted to do…walk a Celtic Camino path so that’s what I set out to do.
With Google Maps as my friend I was out the door by 6am…local bus to Tara train station where I boarded the Dart train to Bray Station..arriving ~7:50am.
Shortly thereafter I was in Finnbees Coffee House where I collected my first stamp and had something to eat
The Bray Celtic Camino is mostly an urban walk with numerous ocean views. It has 5 designated locations for credential stamps…I could not find one location and most importantly there are no arrows (well I found one…see below) or way marking.
Route finding is completed either by following written instructions or a GPS route. I chose the GPS route. Without it no way I could have found my way back to Dublin…even with it there were a few backtracking steps required.
You might ask yourself “Guy can’t you follow a GPS route when Wikilocs beeps at you?”
Not that easy as the author of the said GPS route clearly had a number of instances where she/he had his recording on pause. When recording is reestablished Wikilocs simply draws a straight line between the two points. End result “following” the pre established tracks might mean walking on water or through a building. I can do neither 🤣
Nothing of particular interest occurred until I reached St. James church and the Irish Camino Society Office.
Time flew by…no rain until the very end…I targeted to reach the Camino office before 3:30 closing (arrived 2:30). I walked super light…small daypack…no poles.
Felt strong and walked at a 5.6km pace over the 31.2kms…for sure my maximum possible effort 😅
A few pictures before the finish:
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| The start |
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| Father in law had a number of Citroen’s |
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| The only Camino arrow! |
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| Christchurch Cathedral |
| A walk from A Coruna Spain to Santiago de Compostela coupled with the Bray Celtic Coast Camino would |
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