'We went through an open door': TikToker defends tour of abandoned Cork prison

Two videos, one just over 20-minutes long and another almost half an hour long, have been viewed over 100,000 times

A still from the video tour of of the former Cork Prison building posted online by five young men.

A TikToker who got inside the abandoned former Cork Prison insists he and his friends didn’t ‘break in’ but walked through an open door on the roof.

Jamie Robinson, from Belfast, who began exploring abandoned buildings across Ireland with friends during covid, said: “We went through an open door. It was just exploring, to document it and then we posted the video online.” 

Footage of the stunt was posted on various online platforms, with one of those involved describing it as 'the best abandoned prison in the whole of Europe'.

A garda investigation is now underway into the incident on Rathmore Road and a security review is expected.

Mr Robinson said they made no attempt to hide as they entered the building in broad daylight last Sunday, that they didn't cover their faces, and streamed the video live.

He defended their exploration of abandoned buildings, and pointed out that in 2023, one of his videos prompted a data breach investigation into the HSE, after he came across boxes of historical medical records left behind at the former St Conal’s psychiatric hospital in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, and earlier this year, they found more records at the former St Loman’s psychiatric hospital in Mullingar, which closed in 2013.

“We’ve done more good than bad, in highlighting these buildings,” he said.

“It's about the history of these places and the memories they stir especially when it comes to hotels.

“But we’ve visited seven or eight abandoned hotels in last year that are completely lying rotten." Now in the case of Cork Prison, the people of Cork now know the condition of the building in 2024.” 

The former prison was shut down in 2016 when a new €45m prison was opened on a six acre site nearby.

The former Cork Prison on Rathmore Road was closed in 2016.

It has since been used as a filming location, including for the Maze in 2017 and Michael Inside in 2017.

Mr Robinson and four pals used a telescopic ladder to scale a wall of the former prison on Sunday to access a roof area, where they then were able to get into the main building through an open door.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it is aware of “an incident of unlawful entry” into the building and said the incident has been reported to An Garda Síochána and that it is assisting them in their enquiries “The Prison Service takes the security of all facilities within the prison estate very seriously however it does not comment on security or operational matters,” it said in a statement.

Mr Robinson's video shows how the building has deteriorated badly, with various external doors and windows of what was once one of the most secure prisons in the state now open or unlocked.

He said once they got inside, they were able to walk into cells, where

paint is peeling from walls, and gain access to a cafeteria, an infirmary area and a visiting room, where the lights are still on, proof that the building still has a power supply.

He said it is clear that water is entering the building at various points, with moss growing on the walls. But he said one lower area has been completely flooded.

There have been several calls in recent years for the Government to make use of the former jail site for housing.

The intruders visit several cells, where paint is peeling from the walls, and find a pair of folded jeans still sitting on a bunk bed.

But exploratory talks with the Land Development Agency did not progress and the IPS confirmed last year it planned to retain the building.

The IPS says it has appointed engineering consultants to carry out a detailed assessment of the facility and to provide a feasibility report on the site, with various options for its potential short-, medium- and long-term use.

“It is important to recognise that multiple reports, including those by the Inspector of Prisons and the 2012 feasibility study on Cork Prison, highlighted at the time serious deficiencies on the physical conditions of the former prison and significant health and safety concerns which resulted in the then closure of the facility and the construction of a new prison,” it said.

That report is expected shortly.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, said the incident raises serious security concerns given its location next to the new prison and so close to Collins Barracks.

“We were given a commitment that there would be some kind of community dividend for having had a prison in the area for so long — maybe a community facility, a community cafe, that it could be used for music or education — but eight years on since its closure, and still nothing has happened. It’s nothing but negative for the Glen, and that’s not fair on the community,” he said.