Talk on infamous Civil War jailbreak in Kilkenny

Loughboy Library will host a talk, by author Fergal Donoghue, titled The Kilkenny Gaol Break on Wednesday November 30, at 11am. 

Fergal, author of the Historical Brochure on the Kilkenny Gaol escape in 1921 will talk about the now vanished gaol and the infamous escape.

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Of the 1921  jailbreak, Fergal Donoghue wrote: “On the night of 22 November 1921, forty-three prisoners escaped from Kilkenny jail. This was not the first time that prisoners had escaped from the city or county jail, but it was certainly the most audacious of jailbreaks and the largest. It is also one that lives on to this day in folklore, family history, and the written record. The escapees were all political prisoners during the War of Independence and due to a slew of recent arrivals from Spike Island, came from all over Ireland. 

“At the time of the escape, the county jail was at the top of Gaol Road, on Stephen Street, close to the modern fire station. While nothing remains of jail today, its history can be traced, and the surviving plans show what the jail looked like. The oral evidence from the bureau of military history, in combination with the surviving maps and plans, also reveals a lot about the escape and the approximate location of the exit point of the tunnel can be established.” 

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See more at www.kilkennylibrary.ie/eng/news/latest-news/autumn-lecture-series.html?fbclid=IwAR3zluCTc7sLUkgu8lQJ-yVTEt_29Ld_71G9ul6oD6_LbjoKA6wZShJonAs