Spike Island handed over to council

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.

On behalf of the Department of Justice, Minister for Social Protection, Éamon Ó Cuív, yesterday handed over the Spike Island to Cork County Council, which intends to exploit its rich heritage for tourism.

Mr Ó Cuív said he was personally delighted to set foot on the island as in 1938 his grandfather, Éamon de Valera, stood there as the national flag was raised on it for the first time — on the occasion the Treaty Ports were handed back to the State.