SPIKE ISLAND TO STAR IN DISCOVERY CHANNEL PREMIER SERIES

Spike Island Cork welcomed a film crew working for a new series due to air on the Discovery Channel, capturing the moments previously inaccessible areas were reopened.  The series working title is ‘Breaking History’ and it is due to air from September. 

John Crotty, the general manager of Spike Island, said having such a prestigious TV channel as the Discovery Channel air a programme about the island’s history was “absolutely fantastic” as it would get to a niche market that he and his colleagues would normally never have a hope of reaching.

“They (Discovery Channel) will add gravitas to the site. We are ecstatic as Spike will be in the opening episode of the new series. I think it will definitely help to add to our visitor numbers as we will get penetration into markets we normally wouldn’t be able to reach. The channel is a really respected brand,” Mr Crotty said.  The series is visiting some of the world’s premier historical sites to film new areas being uncovered. 

On Spike Island Cork they focused on the ‘tunnels’, areas underneath the fortress walls that were originally associated with smuggling and pirates in the late 1700’s, but were upgraded and used by the British to store gunpowder for the fort in the early 1800’s.  They then held famine era prisoners in atrocious conditions as the island became the largest prison in the world in the 1850’s.  The team took down walls and accessed areas that had been blocked off in the early 1900’s by the British, in the 1960’s by the Irish army and in 1985 when the island became a prison again, housing Ireland’s joyriders and Dubliner Martin Cahill.  The team found parts for century old artillery guns, a lantern from the British period and old uniforms belong to the Irish Prison service.

The island attraction has the honour of being the first episode to air in autumn.  And there are long term hopes to reopen the tunnels to the public, showing the mixed use of military and prison elements that have survived for 200 years.  “The area is quiet special, it feels like stepping into another world as the temperature plummeted and the dark and damp sets in as you go underground”, said Mr Crotty.  “They would make a stand out addition to our already comprehensive offering so we will investigate the possibility of reopening them”. 

Boat to the island depart daily from Kennedy pier, Cobh.