Native name: Inis Pic | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Spike Island (2023) | |
  Spike Island Spike Island in Ireland | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Cork Harbour |
| Coordinates | 51°50′06″N08°17′06″W / 51.83500°N 8.28500°W /51.83500; -8.28500 |
| Area | 0.41 km2 (0.16 sq mi) |
| Length | 0.8 km (0.5 mi) |
| Width | 0.5 km (0.31 mi) |
| Administration | |
| County | County Cork |
| Additional information | |
| Official website | www |
Spike Island (Irish:Inis Píc) is anisland of 103 acres (42 ha)[1] inCork Harbour,Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement,[2][3] the island is dominated by an 18th-centurybastion fort now namedFort Mitchel.
The island's strategic location within the harbour meant it was used at times for defence and as aprison. Since the early 21st century the island has been developed as a heritage tourist attraction,[4] with €5.5 million investment in exhibition and visitor spaces[5] and accompanying tourism marketing.[6] There were in excess of 81,000 visitors to the island during 2019, a 21% increase on 2018 numbers.[7][8] Spike Island was named top European tourist attraction at the 2017 World Travel Awards.[9]
The principal evidence for a monastic foundation on Spike Island comes from Archdall'sMonasticon Hibernicum,[3][10] which states that SaintMochuda founded a monastery there in the 7th century. A grant to Saint Thomas's Abbey in Dublin in 1178 of the Church of Saint Rusien on Spike Island[3] may lend credence to a monastic settlement, as the name and date both indicate a Celtic foundation. The ruins of a church were reported to exist on Spike Island in 1774.[11]
The grant to St Thomas's abbey in 1178 coincides with the surrender of lands, including Spike Island, by Diarmid McCarthyKing of Desmond to theNormans. In 1182, one Raymond Mangunel was granted or "enfeoffed" Spike Island.[12] There are no further recorded changes in ownership until 1427. In this year, records suggest that William, son of John Reych, granted to John Pyke,amongst other lands and premises, the lands of Innyspyge, in the Comte Cork. In 1490, Thomas Pyke granted to Maurice Ronan ofKinsale, his holdings in Spike Island. In the 17th century, the island was in the possession of the Roche and Galwey families until therebellion of 1641, when these families forfeited possession of the island. Although this forfeiture was reversed on the accession ofKing Charles II of England in 1660, they did not regain possession.
In 1698, the island was in the possession ofArnold Joost van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, who had accompaniedWilliam of Orange to England in 1688. In 1698, he conveyed the island to William Smith ofBallymore on the Great Island. In the 1770s, the island was in the hands of Nicholas Fitton.[13] It would seem that the government leased part of the island for fortifications in the 1770s while the owner remained in residence, the house only being demolished during the construction of the present fort. Eventually, the entire island was rented.
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It was possibly used by smugglers for a time, and a map of circa 1600 clearly shows some form of fortified tower on the island similar to a depiction ofBelvelly Castle on theGreat Island also shown.[14] The island's location at the entrance to Cork Harbour meant that the island held strategic importance. It was a significant site in the French intervention following theGlorious Revolution (1689).
The first artillery fortification on the island was built in 1779. Its construction was prompted by the outbreak of theAmerican Revolution in 1775,[15] and in particular by the entry of France (1778) and Spain (1779) into the war on the American side. Cork Harbour was used as an assembly point forconvoys to the Americas and at one point more than 400 vessels were assembled in the harbour. Additionally, Cork was a source of supplies for the British forces operating in the West Indies and North America. There was, therefore, a need to protect the harbour from potential attackers. The Spike Island Battery was a temporary work and armed with eighteen24 pounder cannon moved fromCobh Fort. After theTreaty of Paris ended the war in 1783, this temporary work was demolished.[15]
In 1789, ColonelCharles Vallancey of the Corps of Irish Engineers, who had been made responsible for the fortification of the harbour during the American war, persuaded the then Lord LieutenantJohn Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland to allow the construction of a permanent fortification on Spike Island. This work was undertaken by theIrish Board of Ordnance. In October 1790, the Earl visited the island and named the incomplete structure Fort Westmorland. In 1793, France declared war on Britain and a conflict began which, withone interlude, occupied the next two decades.
In 1794, on the departure of Westmorland, his successor as Lord Lieutenant, likelyWilliam Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, halted construction of Fort Westmorland. Eventually, Vallancey was allowed to continue but the fort was still incomplete in 1797.[15] It was, however, completed by 1802, as a plan of that date shows.[16] By 1800, this fort was armed with three 13-inch, two 10-inch, two 8-inch and six 5.5-inchmortars, 2924-pounder guns, two12-pounder guns and twelve6-pounder cannon. Also included were two 6-pounderfield guns and two 5.5-inchhowitzers.[15]
The defences of Cork Harbour faced two threats. Firstly an attack by warships forcing entry into the harbour, either in a raid to destroy shipping or to effect a landing of troops. Secondly they faced the threat of attack from the land by forces which had been landed at an undefended point along the coast. Just such a landing had been attempted by the French atBantry Bay in 1796 with a force of 15,000 men. While unsuccessful, the attempt greatly alarmed the military. Vallancey was of the belief that had the French actually landed, they would have taken the Cork Harbour forts, including Fort Westmoreland.[15]
In 1802, GeneralJohn Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, recommended that a major fortress be constructed on Spike Island, capable of holding 2,000 to 3,000 men. He considered Spike Island was "the true point of defence" for Cork Harbour. Lieutenant GeneralDavid Dundas was consulted by theDuke of York, Commander in Chief, who also recommended that a fortress should be erected on Spike Island.William Twiss of theRoyal Engineers concurred.[15]
In 1801, theActs of Union came into force and responsibility for fortifications in Ireland passed from the Irish Board of Ordnance, which was abolished, to theBoard of Ordnance in London. It was the job of this board to implement the decision to erect the fortress and it fell toCharles Holloway, Commanding Engineer Cork District, to begin the works.[15] In 1804, the Hampshire Chronicle reported that the overall height of Spike island had been reduced by 25 feet and the spoil used as infill to create a level foundation.[17] The same paper reported that, on 6 June 1804, General SirEyre Coote had laid the foundation stone of the new fortress.[18]
Two alternative proposals had been made for accommodation within the fort.[19] One envisaged six barrack blocks, one of which was actually constructed in the fort, this being the officers mess block, The ground floor of these blocks consisted of a series of bombproof brick vaulted rooms. The first floor was slate-roofed and open to destruction in the event of a bombardment. The second proposal was for six sets of bombproof casemates set into the ramparts. Two such sets of casemates were actually constructed, these being the north-east and north-west casemates. The second accommodation block to be constructed, the A Block, shows a divergence from the original plan in that the bombproofing is incorporated into the roof. The ground floor of a third block, the B Block, was intended to follow the design of the A block, was erected before the first phase of construction ended (circa 1817). The fourmagazines were also constructed around this time. A large workforce was employed in the construction, and included both troops and civilian workmen.[15]
Later aprison and convict depot, the island was used to house convicts prior topenal transportation. Opened in 1847 to deal with growing number of convictions for theft during theGreat Famine, the prison grew into what "for a few years in the mid-19th century [..] was probably [..] the biggest prison in the British Empire".[20] It later gained a reputation as "Ireland'sAlcatraz".[4][21]
Spike Island was home toEllen (Nellie) Organ who gained special permission to takeFirst Communion shortly before her death at the age of 4. On hearing her story, the pope lowered the age at which communion could be taken, from 12 to 7.[22]
The island remained in use as a garrison and prison through theIrish War of Independence, when IRA prisoners were held there.Richard Barrett was among those detained there, but escaped during the truce of 1921.[4] Over 1400 men were held on the island at its peak[23] until the signing of theAnglo-Irish Treaty.On 6 December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded. It provided for the establishment of theIrish Free State which happened on 6 December 1922. The Treaty included provisions by which the British would retain sovereignty over three strategically important ports known as theTreaty ports, one of which is described in the Treaty as:
Queenstown(b) Harbour defences to remain in charge of British care and maintenance parties. Certain mooring buoys to be retained for use of His Majesty's ships.
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Accordingly, even after the establishment of the Irish Free State, theRoyal Navy continued to maintain its presence at Spike Island. Spike Island remained under British sovereignty until 11 July 1938 when pursuant to theAnglo-Irish Trade Agreement of 25 April 1938, the territory was ceded to Ireland. The handover ceremonies were attended by senior military and political figures, includingÉamon de Valera andFrank Aiken.[24]
Following its handover to Ireland, the island's installations were renamed Fort Mitchel - afterJohn Mitchel, nationalist activist and politicaljournalist who was held on the island for a time.[25] (Similar Treaty Port fortifications atFort Camden andFort Carlisle were similarly renamed toFort Meagher andFort Davis respectively.)[26]
The island remained the site of a prison and military base (for the regularIrish Army, theFCÁ and later the Navy) for some time. Late into the 20th century, it was used as a youth correctional facility. On 1 September 1985 inmates rioted and, as a subsequentDáil committee reported, "civilians, prison officers and theGardaí on the Island were virtual prisoners of the criminals".[27] During the riot, one of the accommodation blocks, Block A, caught fire and is known as the Burnt Block. This prison facility closed in 2004.[1]
The island also had a small civilian population; a small school, church and ferry (launch) service toCobh served the population. The civilian population has since left the island.
Historical population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:Central Statistics Office."CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year".CSO.ie. Retrieved12 October 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In May 2006, the then Minister for Justice,Michael McDowell, announced plans to build a new prison on the island. However, in January 2007, it was decided to explore an alternative site for the new prison, and a local task group was set up to re-open Spike Island as a historical tourist site. In 2009, it was announced that ownership of the island would be transferred, free of charge, toCork County Council to enable its development as a tourist attraction.[28] The Council formed a steering group to explore how Spike Island might be developed as a tourist site,[29] and the Council subsequently licensed operators to give guided tours of the island.
Since 2015, tours depart from Cobh during the summer,[30] taking in the fort, prison cells, gun emplacements, and key points of interest. Following additional €5.5m investment by Cork County Council,[31] andFáilte Ireland,[32] additional attractions and facilities were opened for the summer 2016 season.[5][33] As well as the previously opened buildings and6-inch gun emplacements, as of summer 2016, visitors to the "Fortress Spike Island" cultural heritage attraction can also tour the "punishment block", the 1980s cells (which include an exhibition on the 1985 Spike Island riot),[34] the recreation of the hull of a "transportation ship",[35] and an interpretative installation on John Mitchel, for whom the fort is named.[36]
In September 2017, at theWorld Travel Awards, Spike Island was named "Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction".[9][37]
John Mitchels diary [is] on display in the John Mitchel room on Spike Island
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