Derry Gaol, also known as Londonderry Gaol, refers to one of several gaols (prisons) constructed consecutively in Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. The gaol is notable as a place of incarceration for Irish Republican Army

Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...

 members during the Irish Civil War

Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....

, and for its numerous executions, seven of which took place between 1820 and 1923.

Gaols timeline

• 1620: First gaol constructed at the junction of Butcher Street and the Diamond
• 1676: Second gaol constructed at Ferryquay Street
• 1791: Third gaol opens at Bishop Street
• 1824: Fourth gaol, with unique horseshoe design, opens after four years of construction at a cost of over £33,000
• March 31, 1953: Gaol closes

Executions timeline

• 1820: John Rainey, John McQuade, and Robert Acheson, highwaymen
  Highwayman
  A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
  
   gang members convicted of the murder of Henry O'Hagan, escape the third gaol while awaiting execution, are recaptured, and hanged in front of the third gaol
• January 6, 1893: John Boyle of County Tyrone
  County Tyrone
  Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
  
   is hanged after being convicted at Ulster Assizes for the beating death of his wife of 10 years at Aughnacloy
• January 5, 1904: Joseph Moan, convicted as the "Trillick
  Trillick
  Trillick is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 303 people in the 2001 Census. Trillick lies within the civil parish of Cleenish and the barony of Clanawley.-History before the 18th century:...
  
   murderer" at the Spring Assizes, is hanged for the murder of Rose McCann while she was on her way home to Badoney
• August 20, 1908: John Berryman is hanged for the murder of his brother and sister-in-law, William Berryman and Jane Turner Berryman, near Garvagh
  Garvagh
  Garvagh is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the banks of the Agivey River, south of Coleraine on the A29 route. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,288.-History:...
  
  , after the two brothers fell out over shares of a prosperous farm there, and after being convicted at the Londonderry Assizes
• February 8, 1923: William Rooney is hanged for kicking 21-year-old Gunnings Mill factory worker Lilly Johnston to death in Cookstown
  Cookstown, County Tyrone
  Cookstown is a town and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of nearly 11,000 people in the 2001 Census. It is one of the main towns in the area known as Mid-Ulster. It was founded around 1620 when the townlands in the area...
  
  , after being convicted at the Ulster Winter Assizes in Belfast
  Belfast
  Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
  
  

Folk song

"Derry Gaol" is also another title used for the folk song "The Maid Freed from the Gallows

The Maid Freed from the Gallows

"The Maid Freed from the Gallows" is one of many titles of a centuries-old folk song about a condemned maiden pleading for someone to buy her freedom from the executioner. In the collection of ballads compiled by Francis James Child, it is indexed as Child Ballad number 95; eleven variants, some...

"; some versions of the lyrics bemoan that there is "no release" from the Derry Gaol.