Cork family makes surprising discovery at new War of Independence exhibition on Spike Island

Damien Coughlan, from Rathcormac, Co Cork, was astounded to discover his great grandfather, Pat Coughlan, was an IRA prisoner on the island in 1921

Tom O'Neill, deputy general manager at Spike Island, left, with his book, 'Spike Island's Republican Prisoners 1921', and Damien Coughlan, with a photograph of his great grandfather, Pat Coughlan. Picture: Denis Minihane

A visit to a new exhibition on the War of Independence led to an unexpected discovery for a family whose great-grandfather had kept his involvement in the fight for freedom a secret all his life.

Spike Island has opened a definitive collection on all 1,200 IRA Volunteers imprisoned there by the British in 1921.