![]() The prison closed in 1883 and the fort was used by first the British and then the Irish military, as island social life continued for 2 centuries. ![]() You can walk the children's prison which held boys as young as 11, and sit in solitary cells. Today visitors can explore the dark cells of the punishment block, Ireland's most notorious prison. ![]() Conditions at 'Ireland's Alcatraz' were terrible and 1300 poor souls would never leave the island, buried now in mass graves with no headstone. The prison opened in 1847 and soon held over 2300 inmates, and there has never been a larger prison in Ireland or Britain before or since. The fortress that was built to defend an empire became the largest prison in the world in the 1850's, as the famine raged in Ireland and people resorted to stealing food to survive. Able to garrison 3000 men and with guns that could fire a shell 12 miles, the fort was so important that Winston Churchill called Spike Island 'the sentinel tower of the defences of Western Europe'. In 1779 work began on a fortress and this would become the impressive 24 acre Fort Mitchel which crowns the island today. Monks walked the island trails for 300 years until the Vikings sailed into Cork harbour, and for many centuries the island was used by smugglers, pirates and as an island home. The islands recorded history goes back to the 7th century when St Mochuda founded a monastery on this magical island. Access to the island is by ferry from Kennedy Pier in Cobh, go to for sailings and opening times. It has prison cells, deep tunnels, island walks and multiple museums, explore the 'Irish Alcatraz' via a guided tour or using the free map and app. Used as an Island prison, fortress, monastery and home, today visitors can meet captains and convicts and sinners and saints as you uncover 1300 years of Irish history.
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