For those of you out there that have visited the Kilmainham Gaol Museum in Dublin. Is it worth the time to visit this sight? We are staying right in the middle of Dublin and will be there about four days before our tour of Ireland begins. Could you also tell me how long it took to visit. I am aware of needing advance tickets and the need to order them a month ahead.
Thanks for any responses...
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit! If I am remembering correctly, the visit was about an hour. They took us on a guided tour. It took a little bit to get there on the tram. When we were returning after our visit, there was a crash on the tram line, so we had to take a bus back. Luckily a local helped us do so. If you are at all interested in Irish history, I would absolutely take the time to visit.
Your tour may include Kilmainham Gaol so check the itinerary. Our Rick Steves Ireland in 14 days included this site. It is very well worth a visit. The Gaol tour was excellent.
Just to clarify, the Kilmainham Gaol itself is the guided tour which requires advanced tickets which sell out very quickly. There is a separate museum adjacent to the Gaol that does not require advanced tickets. The standalone museum is interesting but by itself doesn’t give you a full appreciation of the struggle for Irish independence. I can’t imagine spending 4 days in Dublin and not going to Kilmainham Gaol.
During my 2012 visit to Ireland I visited Kilmainham Goal Museum (prison/museum). I found that the historical details learned there were invaluable. In 2012 a visit there was not included in my Rick Steve’s tour itinerary. Having gone on my own proved enriching and preparatory for that tour especially since many key learnings figured prominently into some of that particular tour guide’s discussions. My subsequent visit to the site in 2019 did not disappoint.
Yes, definitely worth it.
The guided tour was very good, definitely worth doing IMO. Don’t remember as much about the museum, but I had a good impression overall. The Gaol is a bit outside the city center, we took a public bus to get there. I’d recommend being online when tickets are released, especially if you have a very specific day or limited time frame you’re looking at. The tickets went FAST!
I think the tour itself was around an hour or so. Museum was at your own pace.
I thought it was the best thing we did in Dublin. Actually been there three times with different friends. Don't remember the museum just the Gaol itself. As said be sure it is not on your tour itself and if not get tickets as soon as available.
Was just there...definitely worth it. Set an alarm to book the tickets...they went in a flash. We splurged for a cab. Under 15Euro from our hotel (north side of the Liffey/Capel Street). We walked from there to Guinness....I wasn't that keen on the storehouse, but if its on your must do list you can combine them. I was told Jamesons is a better tour, but we never got there so I can't say for sure.
There's also an art museum close by to the Gaol.
We visited Kilmainham and Crumlin (Belfast) on the same trip, and although similar, they were both educational and well done.
Thanks for all the timely replies. We will definitely be visiting and as suggested combine with Guinness. (Kilmainham Gaol is not on the our tour's itinerary unfortunately).
is the museum there a must do to or was the tour enough?
The tour is excellent. The museum is small and right on premise. Easy to walk through the museum while you are there.
Tour is totally worth it and we spent more than an hour in the museum....it was bigger than we realized. We also walked from there to Guinness (though didn't love Guinness).
@ dgl - Glad to hear that you were not disappointed with your experience.
Yes, well worth it. We had no issue getting tickets the day of our visit, but things may have changed.
Mike
We were there at the end of May, and I also set an alarm weeks ahead to get my tickets when I needed to have them. The tour groups are small...10-12 people, and extremely well done. I think with the tour and museum we were there about 2 hours. Nice little coffee shop across the street for a snack before or after. We went to the hotel across the street and the bellman called a cab for us to get back downtown. It worked great and was absolutely a highlight of Dublin for us.
Sorry if this is duplicative - we went last week - enjoyed it - it’s a bit gruesome - all the details of the aftermath and punishments for the revolts - that occurred - but it was great tour and took about an hour - the museum afterwards is good too -
Tickets are sold out for all of September. I’m going to be there in early October and wonder when those tickets go on sale.
From the official Kilmainham Gaol website:
Tickets must be booked online and are available to book 28 days in advance.
Any cancellation tickets for the day will be released online between 9:15am - 9:30am
https://kilmainhamgaol.admit-one.eu/index.php?s=OPW_KILM&p=calendar&ev=TOUR&language=ENG
Demand may slacken in October, but I'd suggest you do a dummy booking immediately, to see precisely when a new day's tickets are released, and get used to the website operation. I believe it will occur at 12:00am UTC. For us, it was just a matter of logging on at 4pm (Pacific time) and jumping on the ticket 28 days in advance. In high season, the tickets can go in just minutes or even seconds, and you'll be stuck with picking up a cancellation on the day of your visit. More and more popular destinations are entering a similar zone of being precise with your reservations which is one of the downsides of the internet ...
