A collection of autograph books owned by prisoners at the time of the Easter Rising is now available online. The Kilmainham Gaol autograph collection contains over 12,000 names. The Office of Public Work says the website offers a fascinating insight into the lives of prisoners during the 1916-18 period. According to Niall Bergin of Kilmainham Gaol Museum the autograph books are the most requested items to view in the museum’s archive.
The collection, which covers a variety of different prisons and places of incarceration, features poems, portraits, political statements and signatures. The museums collection contains 12,000 names of those who were incarcerated from 1916 to 1923. The website will be expanded in future to include additional autograph books.