About Spike Island, County Cork
Interesting Places, Natural, Islands, Other Islands
Spike Island (Irish: Inis Píc) is an island of 103 acres (42 ha) in Cork Harbour, Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century star fort named Fort Mitchel. The island's strategic location within the harbour meant it was used at times for defence and as a prison. Since the early 21st century the island has been developed as a heritage tourist attraction, with €5.5m investment in exhibition and visitor spaces and accompanying tourism marketing. There were in excess of 10,000 visitors to the island during the month of August 2016. Spike Island was named top European tourist attraction at the 2017 World Travel Awards.