Gaol & Kells
This morning I saw a few of the major sights in Dublin.
Kilmainhem Gaol (Jail) is a prison near the downtown area. It is both a monument to the famous patriots held there and a museum about the social institution of prisons. Kilmainhem held famous political prisoners including Irish patriots Robert Emmet and C.S. Parnell, as well as common people jailed for petty crime during the Great Famine. (During the Famine, many people committed petty crime in hopes of being jailed and fed.) It is also the site of execution of 14 members of the 1916 Easter Sunday rebellion.
I really enjoyed visiting the Jail. It is exciting to have the opportunity to interact with the Irish history we are learning about in class. Just a few weeks ago we learned about Robert Emmet's role in the United Irishmen, his part in the 1803 uprising, and his imprisonment in Kilmainhem. On the eve of his execution, Emmet gave a speech from the docket that is regarded as a masterpiece of rhetoric. (U.S. President Lincoln studied it and could give it from memory.)
Later this morning we visited the Book of Kells, at Trinity College. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript from 800AD, considered to be one of the finest in the world. It is quite a sight to see. Also at Trinity is The Long Hall, a two-story room with vaulted ceiling and 200,000 rare books. Believe it or not, The Long Hall was the inspiration for the Jedi Library in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
Having done the "abroad" portion of studying abroad this morning, it's time to do some research about conversation structure for my linguistics class.