A PLAN to open Spike Island to the public will come to fruition today when the first guided walking tour of the island, a former military fortress and prison in Cork harbour, will take place.
Earlier this year, Cork county manager Martin Riordan expressed hope that the island would be opened up to the public for visits this summer and the council has now issued a licence to two Cobh-based companies to bring tours to the island.
According to Cork County Council administrative officer Rose Carroll, ferry operator Marine Transport and tour company Titanic Trail Ltd have been jointly licensed to run guided tours of the 106-acre island until October 31st.
“Ever since the Government indicated it was handing over the island to Cork County Council, there’s been a huge call from the public to open it and the number of calls has increased since the Spike Island exhibition opened in Cobh Heritage Centre earlier this month,” she said.
Michael Martin, author of a history of Spike Island – Spike: Saints, Felons and Famine– will be conducting the tours which will leave Kennedy Quay in Cobh at 2pm.
Mr Martin explained that the 90-minute guided tour will bring visitors all over the island which was home to a monastic settlement as far back as AD630 and was later attacked by the Vikings before becoming a British military fort and prison in the 19th century.
Among the areas on the tour will be the convict cemetery where those who died while incarcerated on Spike are buried and according to Mr Martin, the National Archives show that over 730 prisoners died on Spike between 1847 and 1883.
“Only part of the island is accessible at the moment for health and safety reasons but we will have access on the guided tour to Fort Mitchel where we will visit the cell where the nationalist John Mitchel was imprisoned prior to his departure to Van Diemen’s Land.
“We will then visit the very well-restored six-inch gun emplacement at the back of the fort and finally, if time permits, we will visit one of the modern day cells that was in use up until a few years ago when the Department of Justice used it as a detention centre.”