Calls to make history-rich old Cork Prison the city's new 'Spike Island'

The old Cork Prison, which is rich in history, could be the county’s ‘next Spike Island’ by being turned into a heritage site, rather than being demolished to make way for two new prisons, local residents have said.

The facility’s history will be highlighted as part of Heritage Week, with a talk at the site on Sunday and the publication of a 40-page booklet exploring the former prison’s history from Famine times — through the 1916 Rising up to its closure in 2016.

A spokesperson for the Stop Cork Prison Expansion Campaign said: “Focusing on the prison’s history now is particularly relevant and timely… because the Government plans to demolish it and to build two new prisons in its place and across the road from the existing prison, which was built in 2016.”

The Government has consistently said the proposed facility will be an extension of the current prison and not a new prison.

However, given the proposed plans are to build prison space for up to 230 men and 100 women, the campaign group and opposition politicians have said this is more than a simple extension.

The group added that “there will be considerable noise and air pollution, ground shaking, vibration and heavy vehicle traffic to follow, if the planned site demolition and prison building are allowed to proceed”.

While Cork City Gaol and Spike Island are now major visitor attractions, and Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin frequently ranks among the top tourist sites in Ireland, the community group says the Cork site in the Glen should be put to similar use, rather than becoming another prison.

The group’s Ruby Walsh told  The Echo that the prison needs to be seen as an important part of Cork’s social, military, republican, carceral history and heritage, and should be given due attention.

A talk by podcaster, historian, and former Sinn Féin councillor Eolan Ryng is set to take place outside the prison on Sunday at 12pm, and a booklet published by Mr Ryng ahead of the talk, looks at some of the history of the site.

Mr Ryng told The Echo that he had found many interesting stories and famous names who had been imprisoned there when researching, adding that the booklet was the product of one month of research and an academic historian would be able to uncover even more.

Prior to its opening as a civilian prison in 1972 after decades of use as a military detention facility, Mr Ryng said that it was acknowledged as a historical site and it used to open to the public every Easter for a commemoration.

“When it was turned into a civil prison, that history fell from public memory,” he said.

“We’re trying to revive that, because Kilmainham was in a situation in the 1960s when it had fallen into disrepair, and an ordinary group of volunteers put it back together.”

Councillors approved a motion in July opposing the Department of Justice’s plans.

Independent councillor and historian Kieran McCarthy told The Echo that he thought an examination of the building should be conducted, “especially as this week is Heritage Week and the theme is heritage at risk”. He added he was not in favour of “creating a super prison” there.

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