Sligo Gaol

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File:Sligo jail 13.jpg
Sligo Jail.

Sligo Jail or Sligo Prison, (Irish: Príosún Shligigh) founded as Sligo Gaol is a former prison located in Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland which was open from 1823 to 1959.

Construction

The jail 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 jail began in 1818 and it was opened in 1823 at a cost of £30,000.[1][2]

The jail provided its own hospital wing, surgery, dispensary, cookhouse, furnace, clothing store and school.[1]

General history

Gas was introduced to the jail in 1879. This allowed the provision of heating via hot water pipes and earned it the nickname of the Cranmore Hotel.[1]

Male inmates in the prison were forced to undertake "hard labour". This labour included the picking of oakum, rock breaking and wood chopping. Other forms of male labour included shoemaking, tailoring, carpentry, glazing, and painting, whilst female inamtes were employed to sew, knit and wash clothes.[1]

During the 20th century the jail was self-sufficient and produced its own food, the surplus of which was sold outside the prison at stalls in Sligo.[1][3]

Notable events

The final public hanging at Sligo jail occurred on 19 August 1861 when 26 year old Ballymote native Mathew Phibbs, also known as the "Ash Lane Murderer", was hung for murdering William and Fanny Callaghan and a servant girl Anne Mooney in January of the same year.[1] The last person to be hanged within the prison was a Mr. Doherty of Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim in 1903 who was convicted of murdering his son.[2]

On 26 June 1920, a party of approximately 100 volunteers from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) undertook a raid on Sligo jail with the aim of liberating Frank Carty, the OC of the South Sligo Brigade of the IRA and the newly-elected Sinn Féin council of Sligo Town Council.

The IRA members forced open the main gate of the jail and the inner doors. They then forced the nightwatchman to turn over the keys to the cells and they released Carty who was taken away in a waiting motor car.[4][5]

Throughout the period of the Second World War a number of German spies were held in Sligo jail. In September 1946, ten German spies were released from the jail; however, eight of the spies choose to remain in Ireland.[6]

Closure

During the 1950s the number of prisoners detained in the prison was low and dropped to less than 15.[7] The prison subsequently closed on 5 June 1956 after the then Irish Minister for Justice James Everett passed the Sligo Prison Closing Order, 1956 on 25 April, 1956 and the prisoners were transferred to Mountjoy Prison.[1][2][7][8]

The closure of the jail was welcomed by councillors of Sligo Corporation as the felt it was a symbol of slavery and the conquest of Ireland.[2]

In 1957, the Irish Department of Justice transferred the ownership of the prison to Sligo County Council. The Department, however, retained control of three cottages.[2] In 1961, there were plans made to convert the former prison officers' quarters into married quarters for the Gardaí. However, this never materialised and the prison is now used as a storage facility for Sligo County Council with a portion of the site redeveloped as council offices and the headquarters for the Sligo Fire Brigade.[1][2][9]

Notable inmates

List of Governors of Sligo Jail

  • Mr. J. Beatty 1830 - 1857
  • Mr. Walsh 1861 - 1886
  • Capt. Loyd 1886 - 1899
  • Mr. McArthur 1900 - 1901
  • Mr. William J. Reid 1906 - 1924
  • Mr. Hipwell 1924 - 1943
  • Mr. T. Maher 1943 - 1947
  • Mr. J. Kelly 1947 - 1950
  • Mr. Moody 1950 - 1950
  • Mr. Kelly 1950 - 1954
  • Mr. Moody 1954 - 1956

Gallery

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Chris Ridley. ""Sligo Gaol (Prison)"". sligotown.net. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Down Gallows Hill: An illustrated history of Sligo from 1245 to 1995, Paul Gunning, 1995. PB) Sligo Heritage Group p.126-p.129
  3. ^ ""General Provisions Board (Transfer of Functions) Order, 1928"". Legislationonline. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ ""Sinn Feiners kidnap British General"". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ ""June 1920"". DCU. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ ""IRELAND 1937 - 1949"". The World at war. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b ""Prisons Bill, 1956—Second and Subsequent Stages"". Dáil Éireann. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ ""SLIGO PRISON CLOSING ORDER, 1956"". Office of the Attorney General. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ ""Officers' Quarters in Sligo Prison"". Dail Eireann. Retrieved 13 November. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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