THE ferry to Spike Island in Cork harbour moors at the pier in Cobh at least once an hour during the day. From the outside it looks like any normal small passenger craft. The only clue to its purpose is a man on the deck in blue uniform, with a radio hooked to his belt and a checklist in his hand.
As passengers climb the slippery stone steps on to the wet metal of the deck he helps them on board, and as they duck into the cabin for shelter from the strong cold wind he starts writing down their names. In a moment he is talking into his radio, and a voice replies from the mist a mile away, across the grey windswept waters of Cork Harbour.
This is the ferry to Ireland's Alcatraz, the converted fortress on Spike Island properly known as Fort Mitchel. At high tide the ferry can cross in six minutes, but low tide doubles the journey with a detour around an exposed spit of land.
Reporters were able to make the journey and visit the prison in a series of prison "open days" organised by the Department of Justice.
There is a 10 minute walk up a narrow road from the jetty on Spike to the double gates which signify that this is a closed prison, far removed from the open regime originally planned. There are abandoned houses on each side of the road. The civilians who lived here filled the airwaves with distress calls when prisoners ran amok in 1985 and burnt down half the jail. All former residents now live on the mainland, and there are no plans for civilians to return.
Through the gatehouse is a wide open green space, the size of several football pitches, surrounded by buildings and the high, thick stone walls of the fort, which occupies a third of the islands 100 acres.
Forts are built to keep people out rather than in, so parts of Fort Mitchel have been extensively rebuilt as mini prisons, with high concrete walls and metal fences around the cell blocks. But the most obvious sights are two large, burnt out barracks buildings, shells reminiscent of a European city after a second World War air raid. One was burnt down in 1915 when the British army occupied the fort, the other by the rioters in 1985.
The greatest difference between Spike and other closed prisons is the amount of space in Fort Mitchel. The governor, Mr Finbarr O'Leary, has sent plans to the Department in Dublin show how he could take another 250 prisoners, on top of the 102 he already, if the barracks were rebuilt.
"They didn't go for it, but they might yet," he says. With new prisons and refurbishments elsewhere, it may be some time before the planners look again at his drawings.
The prisoners at Spike are from 19 counties, with the largest contingent from Cork (38), and nine from Dublin.
Spike was first a prison in the mid 19th century, often the last piece of Ireland prisoners stood on before transportation overseas. At that time it held as many as 2,200 prisoners - the equivalent of the present jail population in the Republic. In 1985, it reopened as an open or semi opera jail, supposedly for Dublin "joy riders" - the most controversial criminals of the day.
In fact few of them came to Spike (staff say prisoners from far away can be transferred nearer home if travel proves difficult for their families). The most common offences of prisoners now on Spike are assault, larceny, burglary and car theft. Most are serving sentences of up to two years, but a fifth are serving three bears or more. The oldest inmate, aged 47, is serving eight years for stabbing his wife. Most are aged between 16 and 21, and in terms of their age and crimes they represent the lowest echelons of the criminal world.
There are 94 staff, with accommodation for 16 so that those working consecutive days can stay overnight.
The governor says there is virtually no drug problem on Spike. The usual vigilance is maintained in the visiting rooms, but only small amounts of cannabis are found. Staff rely on observing prisoners' behaviour to detect use of "harder" drugs.
Since the riot in 1985, there have been only two escape incidents. In one, six men on a raft got across to Ringaskiddy. Five were quickly recaptured the sixth was caught in Dublin. On another occasion, some prisoners tried to gain access to the main sewer, from which they hoped to be carried out to sea. Their work was found before it was complete. According to prison staff they would not have got far, as there are steel bars halfway down the pipe.
Spike has three cell blocks, with two large recreation yards, as well as a school building for woodwork, crafts, computer training and academic subjects. According to Mr O'Leary, 75 per cent of prisoners opt for schooling. Last year 33 sat Group Certificate subjects.
Only six prisoners are trusted to walk around the grounds - the rest are confined within the schoolhouse or cellblocks, which accommodate four to a room, with toilet and washbasin.
Prisoners told reporters that they found the regime relatively easygoing. But how many would escape if they could? "All of them," says the governor. "They're young, they're liable to do anything."
One prisoner said he was not in a hurry home. He was convicted of car theft in a Border town but says the IRA have warned him to expect punishment on his return home. "We used their name when we took the car," he says. He plans to live with his girlfriend when he gets out. Another came to the attention of staff when he made repeated requests for extra visits - normally one a week is allowed. It transpired the 17 year old had three girlfriends, and a child by each.
Being young and occasionally volatile prisoners, there is a fight every couple of weeks. "If they're friends we tell them to shake hands and sort it out," says a prison officer. Otherwise there is what staff call the "cooler" and prisoners the "choker" or "chokie" - three isolation cells occupied for a few hours by troublemakers about 15 times a year.
According to the governor the average staff overtime payment is about £5 000 a year. One of the most expensive features is the firm for £341,000 a year or almost £1,000 a day. There is always a spare boat and a crew on standby during the night, in case of trouble.