The band’s repertoire is a combination of Newfoundland and Irish tradititional tunes and ballads, with a heavy concentration of Irish. Naturally, such a repertoire contains numerous songs dealing with the various rebellions that are so much a part of Ireland’s history. And so we thought it fitting to adopt a name that has a particularly strong link to Ireland’s rebellious history – Kilmainham
Kilmainham Jail has a very particular place in Irish history. It is amongst Ireland's greatest monuments, yet simultaneously an amazingly painful memory, a place where Ireland's most well-known had been interned at one time or another. Kilmainham Jail was built in 1795, and served as a prison for common criminals and the like. The jail was often the last stopping point before inmates were deported off to Australia. Yet, the jail is remembered most for the political prisoners at one time or another that it held. Each rebellion in Irish history typically would contribute its leaders to the ranks at Kilmainham. From the Rebels of 1798, to the Young Irelanders of 1848, to the Fenians of 1867, the jail was a veritable picturebook of who was who in Irish history. At one time or another in history, the jail held famous Irish nationalists including Robert Emmet, Charles Stewart Parnell, Countess Markievicz, and Eamon de Valera. Parnell's room was actually very nice, almost luxurious in a way. The rest of the prison was certainly not as well provided for. However, the most important event in the prison's history was after the Easter Rebellion of 1916, when fifteen of the leaders were executed by firing squad in the stone-breaker's yard. This act completely backfired on the English, eventually leading to the division of Ireland into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. An interesting story surrounding the events of that Sunday is that Joseph Plunkett actually married his love Grace Gifford the night before his execution. Eamon de Valera was set to be executed, but got out of his execution due to his American citizenship. After this traumatic event that served only to remind Ireland of more painful times, the prison was closed in 1924.
The Jail is now a National Monument, and has been opened to the public as a Museum. The Museum tells the story of Ireland's troubled path to independence and of the Jail's role in that story. It is today one of Ireland's most powerful landmarks, one that draws over one-hundred thousand visitors a year. A tour around the dungeons, corridors and cells can still evoke a shudder and a sense of the building's tragic history. The jail also has a marvellous audio-visual display on its history and a modern museum presentation.
Kilmainham Jail is located in Kilmainham near Inchicore, on the south side of Dublin. The word Kilmainham, or Kill-Magnend, is a combination of two Celtic words – kill, a church, and magnend, magnus: this being the site chosen by St. Magnus to build his church some 1200 years ago.
If you’re ever in Dublin, come down to Old Kilmainham See how these valiant men for Ireland fought and died They did not die in vain, for their spirits stirred a nation A terrible beauty was born that Eastertide The ghosts of the Rising still haunt Kilmainham's halls The brave sons of freedom answered Ireland's call The spirits set free in the stonebreaker's yard Now and forever live within Kilmainham's walls