Kilmainham Jail
Conditions in Kilmainham Jail in the early part of the nineteenth century were unspeakable. Food was usually contaminated, sewers were open and sanitation was non-existent.
Anne's tiny cell had unglazed windows and a bed of straw on a cobbled floor. There was no protection from cold or damp. There was no reading material, no visitors and no healthcare.
Anne was never convicted of any crime, but she was in prison for three years, nonetheless. She was kept in solitary confinement for most of that time and endured beatings, starvation and psychological torture.
By the end of August 1803, more than twenty of Anne's family and relatives had been arrested and imprisoned in Kilmainham. Her young brother, James, was barely nine years old when he died in the damp cells from sheer neglect.