Alcatraz masterplan for Spike Island to be unveiled

A masterplan to redevelop Spike Island into an attraction comparable to Alcatraz will be unveiled this week.

In July 2010, Spike Island, located off the Cork coast, was handed over to Cork County Council on behalf of the Department of Justice by then minister for social protection Éamon Ó Cuív.

The local authority plans to transform Spike Island into a major tourism and heritage centre, highlighting the role the island has played in Irish history.

Over the centuries, the island has seen monastic settlements, penal colonies and military bases established on its shores.

Members of the public will be given a chance to review the masterplan at the Commodore Hotel in Cobh on Wednesday.

Cork County Council and members of the design team from the Scott Tallon and Walker consortium will hold a public consultation onsite with interested parties.

As part of its drive to turn Spike Island into a tourist attraction, the council plans to build a floating pontoon, mooring systems and gangways at Spike Island.

Spike Island was the last place that thousands of Irish convicts would have seen before they were dispatched to Van Diemen’s Land — Tasmania.

A military outpost or penal institution of some kind since the 16th century, Spike Island closed as a prison in 2004.

The first known use of the 106-acre island was as a monastic settlement when a religious community was established there in the 7th century. The first prison on the island dates from the 17th century, following the end of the Cromwellian wars.

During the late 18th century and early 19th century, it was used to hold prisoners to be transported to the West Indies and Australia, and during the 1850s John Mitchel — after whom the prison was renamed in 1938 — was jailed on Spike for his involvement in the rebellion of 1848.

The island remained in British hands until July 1938, when the last British troops departed and the Tricolour was raised by Éamon de Valera. It was transferred to the Department of Justice in 1985, which operated a prison there until its closure eight years ago.