THE former Dublin jailhouse in which the leaders of the Easter Rising were imprisoned and executed has been named among the top tourist attractions in the world.
Kilmainham Gaol, now a popular museum run by the Republic's Office of Public Works, was named number 13 in a list of the world's top 25 attractions by the website TripAdvisor.
The list was compiled as part of the travel site's annual Best of the Best awards for destinations that have a "high volume of above-and-beyond reviews".
Opened in 1796, Kilmainham has become a central location for Irish history, and was where Easter Rising leaders including Patrick Pearse and Joseph Plunkett met their ends by British firing squads.
In the century before, public executions were also carried out there, with TripAdvisor editors noting: "This bleak old jail was notorious in the 19th century for its harsh treatment of prisoners."
Along with the 1916 Easter Rising, exhibitions at the museum also examine the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion and the Irish Civil War of 1922-23.
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"Each winner has passed our rigorous trust and safety standards. Fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor’s 8 million listings are awarded Best of the Best, signifying the highest level of excellence in travel," a TripAdvisor spokesperson said.
Barcelona's Basilica de la Sagrada Familia topped the Tripadvisor list, with Rome's Colosseum in second place and the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam third.
Kilmainham finished higher in the list than attractions including the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and India's Taj Mahal.
Meanwhile, this week also saw travel website Booking.com name three of the north's counties among the five most welcoming regions in the UK.
It named Co Down as the most welcoming region, followed by Co Antrim and Co Derry, with the Scottish Highlands in fourth place and central Scotland taking the fifth spot.
