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For #InternationalCatDay we thought we would post this clipping from the Newcastle-based Sunday Sun newspaper from 11 December, 1921. It shows one of the political prisoners release from Kilmainham Gaol that week holding the kitten he had with him during his incarceration.

Speaking about that meeting he said: '‘The voice and the sentiments which went forth at Kilmainham, have thrilled through every heart in the country. They have spoken, trumpet-tongued, the feelings of independence which beats in every Irish bosom". 3/3

When Steele realised he had lost control of the meeting he ordered armed soldiers in to clear the building. O'Connell and his followers responded by reconvening the meeting on the street outside. 2/3

Daniel O'Connell was born #OTD 6 August 1775, 250 years ago. At a meeting in Kilmainham Courthouse called by the High Sheriff Sir Richard Steele on 30 December 1820, he led a revolt against attempts to steamroll through a loyal address to the very unpopular George IV. 1/3

Carey was separated from the other prisoners and we believe was lodged in the room opposite the room Parnell once occupied. Carey was present in the Gaol when five of his fellow Invincibles who were hanged for the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish and T.H. Burke. 3/3

The report carried an illustration of the moment in Kilmainham Courthouse that February when the accused Invincibles relaised that their leader Carey was about to give evidence against them. 2/3

#OTD 4 August 1883 'The Graphic' reported that James Carey had been shot dead on 29 July by Patrick O'Donnell on board the ship bring him to a new life in South Africa. O'Donnell had discovered Carey's true identity as the man who had betrayed his fellow Invincibles. 1/3 🧵

Roger Casement was executed #OTD 3 August 1916 in London. One of his handkerchiefs, now in the Kilmainham collection, was later owned by Kathleen O'Connell. She is pictured in Paris with Seán Murphy and Éamon de Valera for whom she served as personal secretary.

Our exhibition, 'Unsurrendered Spirits': The Prison Writings of Dorothy Macardle, will close on 6 August so if you want to see it before it closes you need to make your way to the Gaol soon. A reminder that admission to see our exhibitions is free and no booking is required.

We are excited to see our colleagues in @IFI_Dub are having a special showing of 'Korea' on 30 July. Adapted from a John McGahern, it centres on the bitter legacy of the Irish Civil War and was partly filmed in Kilmainham Gaol in the 1990s

The clipping was among a large number of precious items kept safe by Fanny Kelly (later Lalor) in her family bible. She herself was a political prisoner in Kilmainham for several months in 1923 during the Civil War. 2/2

The revolutionary and politician Cathal Brugha was born #OTD, 18 July 1874. A veteran of the 1916 Rising, this clipping from The Irish Independent of 11 December 1918 shows him as the Sinn Féin candidate for Waterford in the momentous 1918 Election. 1/2

doors, the resounding locks, the gloomy passages, the grated windows, and the characteristic looks of the keepers, accustomed to reject every petition, and to steel their hearts against feeling and pity." 3/3

In a letter to his sisters he advised that they read the section of William Godwin's novel 'Caleb Williams' if they wished to know what a prison was like. Here is how the novel's eponymous hero described his first impressions of prison: "To me every thing was new,—the massy. 2/3

Henry Joy McCracken was executed #OTD, 17 July 1798, for his role in leading the United Irishmen in the 1798 Rebellion. He had previously spent nearly a year as a prisoner in Kilmainham Gaol between October 1796 and December 1797. 1/2

Countess Markievicz died #OTD, 15 July 1927, in Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital in Dublin. We recently unveiled a special display about her which centres on her War of Independence prayer book which she transformed into a memorial to her fallen comrades during her imprisonment.

For #BastilleDay, an illustration of 'The Bastille of Ireland' from 'L'Univers illustré', 10 September 1881. This image had previously appeared in the 30 July 1881 issue of 'The Illustrated London News'. In both versions the image of the Gaol was accidentally inverted

This illustration by Darius Joseph Mac Egan appeared in the "The Pictorial World" on 17 February 1883 and shows the crowds who gathered at the Courthouse railings to see the prisoners being brought between the Gaol and Courthouse during the Invincibles court hearings.

RT @lorraineelizab6: Sarah Atkinson (13 Oct 1823 #Athlone #Roscommon-8 July 1893).✍️. Opened home for workhouse women/children. Campaigned….