1850 – Mountjoy Prison, Dublin

Architect: Captain Joshua Jebb

mountjoy-prison

2944294329362940

Mountjoy was designed by Captain Joshua Jebb of the Royal Engineers and opened in 1850. It was based on his design at Pentonville Prison in London. As at Pentonville it was originally intended as the first stop for men sentenced to transportation, they would spend a period in separate confinement before being transported to Van Diemen’s Land.

Like Pentonville it had a central hall with four radiating wings, all visible to staff at the central circle, known simply as ‘the circle’. This design, intended to keep prisoners isolated – the “separate system” was first used at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia – was not, as is often thought, a panopticon. Officers had no view into individual cells from their central position.

Each of the main wings, A through D, has three landings, as well as an underground basement landing. When originally built in 1850 it had 500 cells, each of which was designed for single capacity. The cells at Pentonville and Mountjoy were very similar in design and size – being roughly 13 feet long, 7 feet wide and 9 feet high with a little window high on the outside wall and doors opening on to narrow landings in the galleries. The prison was built with in-cell sanitation, but this was removed in 1939 when it was deemed that ‘prisoners were using too much water’. Later reinstated with modernisation during the 21st century.

A total of 46 prisoners were executed within the walls of the prison, prior to the abolition of capital punishment. Executions were carried out by hanging and firing squads, after which the bodies of the dead were buried unmarked on the grounds.

Published October 29, 2024