The original gates of Waterford City Jail, found at the local track, were erected by the management of Waterford and Tramore Racecourse Co. and handed over to Waterford Corporation’s Heritage Department ahead of the August Racing Festival in 1997.

Pictured are, from left, directors John Queally and Paul Jackman, Austin King (maintenance manager) and Paddy Hutchinson (staff).

The gates had been removed during the demolition of the old “gaol” in 1949, a decade after it was closed, and were subsequently used in the middle entrance of the racecourse.

Ballybricken’s last public execution, witnessed by 3,000 onlookers, took place outside the imposing main gate in 1863; a new neo-gothic-style building having recently replaced the original 1727 structure.