WATCH: Hopes for 100,000 visitors to Spike Island as further plans unveiled

Plans have been drawn up for a €6.25m second phase of development at Spike Island in Cork harbour which, it is hoped, will drive visitor numbers there to 100,000 per year by 2020.

Details of the planned upgrade were revealed yesterday as a large number of guests were invited onto the island to celebrate the official opening of its first phase of development, which cost €6.5m.

David Keane, director of the Spike Island Development Company, said the county council, which owns the site, had lodged an application for €5m of Fáilte Ireland funding for phase two, with the council adding a further €1.25m from its own resources.