There's plenty to see on the island but much of it is still off-limits, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL
EVER SINCE the seventh century, locals and visitors have been trying to access and make use of Spike Island, a 104-acre island in the mouth of Cork Harbour, close to Cobh. At various times it has accommodated monks, perhaps Vikings, Normans, British and Irish military, convicts, and a community of workers and military personnel and their families.
Now, with the transfer of the island from the Department of Justice to Cork County Council, the first guided tours of the site have begun, led by historian Michael Martin. The hope is that the island will evolve into a site of cultural significance.
For now, daily tours leave the pier in Cobh at 2pm, and strong demand has come not only from tourists, but from former residents. When I took the tour last week, half of the participants had some connection with the island, and were there to reconnect with their in-laws – or outlaws, as the case may be. Martin, who has written a book on the island, was informative but wasn’t helped by the fact that tourist infrastructure and access to the island is at an early stage. For example, there are only two toilets, while several older buildings and villages are off-limits. The site’s old cemetery, with Famine-era graves, is also inaccessible.
While Martin is strong on the history of the site, the human side of the Spike Island story is not well served – particularly when making it relevant to younger tour members. There must be a rich vein of personal stories that people could relate to, yet apart from the somewhat laboured story of Nellie Organ, few of these made it into the tour.
But a site like this begins with small steps and there is no denying its potential and Martin’s passion for the subject. He was strong on the Famine era and the reasons many were sent there awaiting deportation. “My research has shown that 60 per cent of the convicts were here for stealing food, and half of those were under 25,” he said, before asking tour participants to help with a campaign to have the criminal records of those sent to the island reversed. “They were criminalised by their hunger.”
In more recent times, the site was used as a prison by the State and the four-bedded cells are accessible and left in much the same condition as when they were vacated. Locals told me that a family on the tour a week earlier took particular interest in these cells, with the father of the group pointing to one bunk and saying, “Look, that’s where Daddy slept.”
There’s also a chance for visitors to look inside what is thought to be the cell Irish patriot John Mitchel was held in before being deported to Van Diemen’s Land.
The tour costs €12.50 and lasts 90 minutes. Tel: 021 4815211
