Wicklow Gaol

OVERVIEW

A former county prison in the town of Wicklow. There has been a gaol on the site since the late eighteenth century; it held prisoners taken in the 1798 Rebellion, men and women convicted during the Great Famine, and many awaiting transportation to Australia. William Vitruvius Morrison extended it in 1822 and it was enlarged again later. It closed as a prison, fell derelict, and was restored from 1995, reopening as a museum in 1998 with an exhibition on the rebellion, the Famine and transportation.

HISTORY

The gaol's documented history is the reason for its reputation: the 1798 prisoners, the Famine committals, and the convict ships. Conditions were severe and the death rate high.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

The museum states its own claim to be one of the most haunted buildings in the world, on the basis of the suffering recorded in its own archive, and runs ghost tours. It was filmed for Ghost Hunters International in 2009. Staff and visitors report footsteps on the landings, cell doors, voices and figures. The entry is honest about the source: the claim originates with the venue, and the history behind it is fully documented.

VISITING

Open as a museum with guided tours; evening ghost tours by ticket. Wicklow town centre.