Memorial mass in Wicklow Gaol
WICKLOW Gaol made for a unique setting for a special Mass commemorating the thousands of inmates who used to be imprisoned there.
This year is the 20th anniversary of the re-opening of the gaol as an historic attraction and staff and management felt a community event should be arranged to remember the harsh treatment many inmates received.
The Mass was celebrated by Fr Donal Roche and was attended by people from Wicklow and Rathnew parish.
One of the highlights of the service was the moving music performed by members of the local choir, with the gaol surroundings providing the perfect acoustics for each hymn.
Many of the inmates incarcerated over the two centuries that the prison was open would never have had the dignity of a proper funeral.
Prisoners suffered form horrific overcrowding and regular beatings, with men, women and children all imprisoned together. Condemned prisoners were hanged while others suffered a torturous six-month journey to Van Diemen’s Land, with many dying during the long and harrowing voyage.