January 10, 2004 - page 2


My favorite sight today, though, was Kilmainham Gaol. This is where some of the prisoners from the 1916 uprising in which some of the Irish tried to overthrow the British government in Dublin were held and where the leaders were executed. It gave me an eerie feeling to walk through the basement by the cells where prisoners like Eamon de Valera and the Pearse brothers were held and through the yard where the prisoners

were executed. It seemed like it was 20 degrees colder inside the gaol than outside. The tour guide got a bit emotional when she talked of the significance of the uprising and how it was the turning point for Irish independence. It's hard for me to imagine what all this means to the Irish. We, as Americans, are so far removed from the people who won our independence that I sometimes feel like we take it for granted. Independence for the Irish is still a new concept and they are still very passionate about it.