IT SLIGO CELEBRATE 200 YEARS OF SLIGO GAOL
2018 sees the 200-year anniversary of Sligo Gaol and 100 years since the jailing of iconic Republican, Michael Collins who was detained in Sligo Jail in April of 1918.
TO celebrate this anniversary, five students of the Institute of Technology Sligo Ella Nawrot, Molly McGowan, Leanne Higgins, Patricia Terron Garcia and Louise Leeson are hosting a Jail Break event in the main concourse of IT Sligo on the 19 th of April between the hours of 11am – 2.00pm.
Captured individuals will be sentenced for a crime they didn’t commit and locked in a jail cell.
With only 15 minutes to escape, groups of individuals will have to work together to find clues in the room and solve a series of puzzles to save themselves.
Sligo Gaol was built on virgin land to the east of the centre of Sligo. It replaced an earlier unregulated gaol which is located on the site of the current Sligo Courthouse. The prison sits on an 8-acre site and was designed to hold 200 inmates in a polygon-shaped building, with the Governor’s residence situated in the centre of the prison.
Construction of the prison began in 1818 and it was opened in 1823 at a cost of £30,000.
The number of prisoners detained in the prison dropped to less than 15 which resulted in its closure in 1956.
Do you think you have what it takes to escape? Limited cell spaces are available. Contact organisers for more information and prisoner’s nominations on sligojailbreak@gmail.com!
As a part of the event, IT Sligo 3rd year students of Tourism with Event Management in association with Sligo County Council Heritage Office and Friends of the Sligo Gaol will hold a seminar at 12pm – 1pm on April 6 th at the Aurivo Auditorium at the Institute of Technology.
a special guest speaker will be announced in due course.
This seminar will include a discussion panel where listeners will have an opportunity to address aspects of the past, present and future of the Sligo Gaol.
Limited places available. To book your free entry ticket go to https://www.eventbrite. ie/e/200-years-of-sligo-gaoltickets-43653094581
As Sligo County Council have designated 2018 as the “Year of Sligo Gaol”, the aim for this event is to assist the Heritage Office and Friends of Sligo Gaol in promoting the jail as a flag ship tourist attraction for a Sligo Region, furthermore emphasise the need for the maintenance and restoration of this significant heritage building.