Wander the prison wings
A self-guided route runs through the wings and corridors of the gaol. A guidebook with a building map and prisoner stories is included and is available in 12 languages.
Cork City Gaol
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About
Cork City Gaol is a battlemented, castle-like Victorian prison on Sunday's Well where visitors wander the wings among lifelike models and the real stories of 19th-century inmates.
Things to Do
Meet the prisoners
Realistic models, sound effects and an audio guide (an extra €2, nine languages) bring inmates such as Mary McDonnell, jailed 57 times, back to life.
Picnic in the Governor's Garden
Picnic tables and plenty of green space sit in the Governor's Garden, with wide views over the city below.
See the castle-like facade
The grey, battlemented stone front, begun with boundary walls in 1818, makes this one of Cork's most photographed buildings.
Join the 2pm guided tour
A 45-minute guided tour runs daily at 2pm, and hourly in July and August, for an extra €2.50. Guided tours are in English only.
Ground-floor exhibitions and gift shop
Seven of the nine prisoner stories, the Governor's Office, the Audio-Visual show and the souvenir shop are all on the ground floor.
Plan Your Visit
- Hours: Open daily, 10am to 5pm March to October and 10am to 4pm November to February. Closed 22 to 26 December.
- Admission: Adults €12, students/OAPs €9.50, children 3-17 €7.50, family (2 adults and 2-4 children) €37
- Parking: Parking outside the gaol, maximum two hours, no disc required; a coach space sits across the road. No public bus passes the gaol; the 208 stops on Western Road, about a 10-minute walk away.
- Food: No café on site, only a coffee machine in the gift shop. Nearby: Farol Tapas Bar around the corner, The Natural Foods Bakery in Fitzgerald Park (10-minute walk), plus the Kingsley and River Lee hotels.
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