Cork County Council has been told to prepare plans to get a number of harbour forts, Martello towers, and what was once the largest gunpowder factory in the world added to Unesco’s world heritage status list.

A major military commemoration is planned next week to mark the 80th anniversary of the British handover of Spike Island and other coastal forts in Cork.

Forts and Martello towers dotted around Cork Harbour and what was once the biggest gunpowder factory in the British empire could soon be designated as Unesco World Heritage sites.

CORK County Council is seeking tenders for a master plan to develop Spike Island as an Alcatraz-type tourist attraction.

ON the exact day 72 years after the British handed back an island in Cork harbour another historic handover took place there which will ultimately see Ireland’s “Alcatraz” turned into a major tourist attraction.