Saturday, May 24, 2014

Kilmanham Jail/ Guinness

Ireland’s history is so rich and similar to Navajo culture. Today we went to visit the Kilmanham Jail in Dublin. It was historically the first of its kind (at the time) to change the way that jails were operated. Originally jails housed many convicted persons, men/women/children, into one large room. This was not conducive to setting a precedent of “punishment”, often times it was social, drinking, fighting, and one large group of people who housed for an amount of time. When the new Irish officials realized this was not necessarily teaching them a lesson, they enforced stricter punishment.

 A new form to be used: isolation, constant surveillance, and reflection. Thus the jail was built to house one felon per cell, built to be viewed by the guards at all times, and to enforce them to only see light when thinking of how to reform themselves. In theory this seemed like the solution to the strict Irish officials however it soon became a problem in numbers, the famine, and the limestone additionally not accounted for to house those convicted. (guilty or not) A lot of the jail did house women and children who were caught stealing food during the famine. It was a very strong somber presence and to see the jail and feel the cold dampness in the summertime, only made me think about the winter conditions.

Hearing the more serious topics of Ireland first really helped me to grasp the history and to think of the country in its context. Before arriving I really did not know much at all! This gave me more of a connection to Irish history and to the sacrifices they had to pay for their country. Especially for those who died in signing the Irish Declaration of Independence. It was a stark contrast to the signing of the American Independence.

Afterward we switched up the mood by touring the Guinness factory. It was really fun to see the factory after hearing so much about it, and see all of the Guinness signs outside of pubs. The factory itself was loaded with tons of people and guides had said that it was a slow day. It seems to be a good source of revenue, information, and to learn more about how Irish people made Guinness. It is a fascinating process, but my favorite part of the tour was learning about the wooden barrels. They make 1,000+ handmade a week. It’s insane, how they made the barrels without any measurements or some sort of sap to make it water resistant. Overall I really enjoyed the day learning more about the beginning of Irish independence and to set the stage for the trip.

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