Cork City Gaol Ireland

About the venue

This Cork heritage centre is renowned for its wax figures.

Step back in time to see what 19th / early 20th Century life was like in Cork - inside and outside the prison walls. Amazingly lifelike wax figures, furnished cells, sound effects and fascinating exhibitions. Stepping inside visitors are taken back in time to the 19th century. Wandering through the wings of the Gaol, the atmosphere suggests you are accompanied by the shuffling feet of inmates, each representing their particular period in Irish history from pre-famine times to the foundation of the State. The cells are furnished with amazingly life-like wax figures; original graffiti on cell walls tell the innermost feelings of some inmates while a very spectacular audio visual tells the social history and contrasting lifestyles of 19th c.Cork and why some people turned to crime, and some ended up in Australia. This exhibition fascinates visitors of all ages and nationalities and the tour is available in up to 13 languages. The haunting and eerie atmosphere of the West Wing provides a dramatic environment for that special event!