Wicklow Gaol, Prison museum in County Wicklow, Ireland
Wicklow Gaol is a three-story granite and brick building in County Wicklow that serves as a prison museum. It holds original cells, corridors, and a dungeon showing how prisoners lived from the 1700s until 1924.
A prison has stood on this site since the late 18th century. It held prisoners during the 1798 Rebellion and the Great Famine, and many more before penal transportation. The prison was extended in 1822 to a design by William Vitruvius Morrison and again in 1842–3. Demoted to a bridewell in 1877, it closed by 1900, then reopened in 1918 for republican prisoners including Erskine Childers; the last left in 1924.
The tours show how prisoners lived and worked across different time periods. Visitors see what daily life looked like in the cells and what role the prison played in the community.
Plan to spend about 90 minutes to see all exhibits and explore the different areas. The site offers audio guides in several languages, a café, and is accessible for visitors of different abilities.
The museum calls itself one of the world's most haunted buildings, a claim tied to the suffering of prisoners held here from the late 1700s. In 2009 the prison appeared in an episode of Ghost Hunters International. Erskine Childers was among the republican prisoners held here during the Irish Civil War.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,728 contributors worldwide.
