Full of enthusiasm, with genuine knowledge of all aspects of the island, you can't help but get lost in their stories and insight.
Part of the reason for the success is the Spike Island tour guides. In fact, it was named the top tourist destination in Europe for 2017 at the World Travel Awards, beating off competition from the likes of the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum and Buckingham Palace. Today, Spike Island is one of Ireland's top tourist destinations. The island remained a prison and a military base under Irish rule until its eventual closure in 2004. Hours later, Gardaí arrived and seized back control. In September 1985, the prison was the scene of a riot by prisoners, who eventually took over the island. The most famous escape from the prison came during this time when Seán MacSwiney, Tom Malone and Con Twomey fled the island and were picked up in a boat by members of the IRA. It had also been used as a place to hold prisoners, during Cromwell's time, but the rise in crime caused by the desperation of the Irish people during the Famine created the need for it to become a fully-fledged prison.ĭuring the War of Independence (from 1919 to 1921), the prison held members of the Irish Volunteers. Fort Mitchel became a full-scale prison in 1847, in the middle of the Great Irish Famine. Today, it houses Ireland's largest military gun park. The fort was completed in 1850, and at the time was at the cutting edge of military technology. Later, Fort Mitchel became a prison that could house up to 2,300 prisoners, both men and women, many of whom were later sent to finish their sentences in the USA or Australia. It is a 24-acre star-shaped Fortress that was used as a base by both the British and Irish armies. Fort Mitchel, built in the 18th century by the British Army to defend against enemy forces, dominates the landscape of the island. Over the past 1,300 years, Spike Island has been home to a monastery, a fortress and, most recently, a prison. It is a five-minute ferry ride from the town of Cobh. Spike Island, lying off the coast of County Cork, is a 104-acre island. A must for any chocolate lover in Cork City. They only stock chocolate that passes their standard. They are completely independent and are not tied down to any particular manufacturer. A delightful one-stop shop for the finest chocolates found throughout Europe. One amazing treat that we came across was in The English Market was The Chocolate Shop. So if you are in Cork and are looking for the best quality food, exotics produce or simply going for a stroll, a visit to The English Market is essential. The ready to eat hot dogs, from one of the many butchers, are also an unmissable treat. Queen Elizabeth II, on her 2011 Tour of Ireland, made sure to drop by The English Market to take a look around.īreaks from shopping can also be enjoyed in the market's cafés. The diversity of its products, friendliness of its traders and its overall aesthetic beauty ensure both locals and visitors to the Cork City flock to its stall on a daily basis. Today the market is a focal point for Cork's shoppers. A fire on 19 June 1980 saw the Cork City Council undertake an extensive refurbishment of the property. From 1788 until 1980 the interior of the market changed very little. The name 'The English Market' was thought up in the 19th Century to differentiate it from The Irish Market (currently the Bodega on Cornmarket Street). Cork City Gaol has a souvenir shop, tourist information, picnic area and a café. The self-guided tour of the gaol is available in 13 different languages. The tour takes visitors back in time, recreating the harsh realities of nineteenth century incarceration while exploring some of the underlying causes of contemporaneous crime. Unlike their predecessors, visitors today have the freedom to roam the gaol's catacombs for the price of €8 (concessions available). Original scrawlings on the walls of the cells added with eerily realistic wax figures of both guards and prisoners give the whole experience a very voyeuristic feel. Today the gaol has been redesigned as a visitor centre, refurbishing the cells as they would have been hundreds of years ago. In the 20th century, its most famous prisoners included Fenians James Mountaine and Brian Dillion and revolutionary nationalist Countess Markievicz. Later in the same century, the gaol's guests included Young Irelanders Derry Lane, Terence Bellew McManus, Ralph and Isaac Varian. During the early 1800s, the gaol's walls housed many temporary prisoners before they were taken to convict ships bound for Australia. In its heyday of the 19th and early 20th Centauries, Cork City Gaol was home to some of Ireland's most notorious prisoners.
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