Revolution, imprisonment and a broken wall

The story

Dundalk Gaol became a focal point during the revolutionary years. Louth County Archives documents political imprisonment, hunger strikes, escapes and three executions. The best-known escape took place on 27 July 1922, when Frank Aiken and more than a hundred men got out through the celebrated 'Hole in the Wall'. The archive preserves transcripts from the prisoners' register and distinguishes this incident from the further release of prisoners in August.↗1

An escape makes a vivid scene, but the wider history should not become an adventure tale alone. The same archive account records the loss of more than seventy lives in County Louth during 1919–1923, alongside extensive damage. The surviving gaol complex now links research and cultural activity: part houses the County Archives, while the Oriel Centre provides a home for traditional music and performance.↗1↗2