Work to start on €5m Spike Island centre

Work is set to start next month on a €5m tourist project on Spike Island, the first phase of a development which will later include refurbishing the former jail as an interpretive centre.

Cork County Council yesterday awarded the contract for the works to Cumnor Construction Ltd, and the project is due for completion next June.

The council took the island over from the Department of Justice in the last few years and intends to turn it into a major tourist attraction. The former prison will be re-roofed and the interior refurbished and it will later house an interpretive centre, costing a further €1m, which will focus on the island’s history. It’s hoped the contract for building that will be awarded in November.