Spike Island: Mysterious Staircase Unearthed at ‘Ireland’s Alcatraz’

A star-shaped fortress on a scenic island off Ireland's southwest coast once served as home to one of the largest prison populations in history.

Before the pandemic, Spike Island attracted crowds of tourists, much like Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay or Robben Island off South Africa. Yet, during Victorian times, it was a grim place where many prisoners never escaped, with over 1,000 dying in less than four years.

To uncover more about the prisoners who perished on this notorious island, bioarchaeologist Barra O’Donnabhain started excavating the convict cemetery in 2013.

Over the past seven years, O’Donnabhain and his team have uncovered some of Spike Island's darkest secrets, including a chilling practice once performed on the bodies of deceased prisoners.

In August 2020, island manager John Crotty revealed one of the most significant finds to date: a hidden stone spiral staircase from the late 18th century.

The Transformation of an Island into a Prison

Spike Island, often dubbed ‘Ireland’s Alcatraz’, boasts a complex and layered history.

Historical records suggest that the 104-acre island may have once been home to a 6th-century monastic settlement. Over time, it evolved into a British military outpost in the 18th century, later serving as a holding point for convicts destined for penal colonies like Australia and Bermuda.

The original British fortress, covering 10 acres, was built in the late 1700s. However, it was deemed inadequate to protect against a potential invasion by Napoleon’s forces, leading to the construction of a larger, 24-acre fort in 1804.

Excavations of a tunnel connecting the inner fortress to the outer moat recently uncovered a hidden spiral stone staircase, one that was completely absent from the island’s historical blueprints.

At the base of the staircase, large animal bones and an unfinished bottle of wine were discovered. 'The 1804 plans and subsequent sketches make no mention of this staircase, so finding this hidden passage leading to such an exquisite piece of stonework was a delightful surprise,' Crotty said in a statement.

Alan O’Callaghan, assistant manager of Spike Island, shared the excitement surrounding the discovery. 'This also raises the possibility that similar staircases may exist in other areas of the older fort, potentially used for various purposes, including escape attempts,' he explained.

'The prison was established as a response to the Great Famine and the perceived increase in criminal activity, as the judicial system at the time imposed severe punishments for theft,' said O’Donnabhain, a professor of archaeology at University College Cork, in an interview with Dinogo in 2018.

Since 1847, men and boys as young as 12 were sent to Spike Island, many for crimes that today would be considered minor, such as stealing potatoes.

‘Hell on Earth’

By 1853, the number of inmates on Spike Island had swelled to 2,500, potentially making it the largest prison in the British Empire at the time, if not the world, in terms of prisoner population, according to O'Donnabhain.

Up to 40 prisoners were packed into each dormitory-style room, measuring 40 feet by 18 feet. There were no individual cells except in the punishment block, reserved for the most dangerous criminals.

Several convict accounts from the punishment block describe how they were shackled from wrist to ankle and left broken by the torment, referring to their suffering as 'Hell on Earth.'

The prison’s brutal system of forced labor, combined with terrible living conditions and inadequate food, led to daily deaths among the convicts in the early years, as explained by O'Donnabhain.

Uncovering Spike Island’s Dark Past

Historical records show that one of Spike Island's two graveyards contains the remains of over 1,000 prisoners who perished before 1860.

In a 2018 interview, O'Donnabhain revealed that he and his team had excavated 35 burials from the other graveyard, which was used after 1860. By this time, deaths had significantly dropped to around one per month.

O'Donnabhain was struck by the care shown by prisoners when burying their fellow inmates, especially how they painted the inexpensive pine coffins to resemble more expensive oak ones.

'I see it as a gift from one prisoner to another,' O'Donnabhain reflects. 'Despite being buried on a convict island, isolated from the rest of society, your fellow inmates still took the time to ensure your burial was a statement of your worth.'

Skulls for ‘Science’?

One of the most intriguing discoveries was that some skeletons had the tops of their skulls removed.

O'Donnabhain speculates that this might be linked to a broader study in the 1870s led by Italian scientist Cesare Lombroso, aimed at identifying physical traits associated with the 'born criminal.'

'Lombroso conducted numerous autopsies on hanged criminals and noticed a distinct variation in skull structure, which he claimed was indicative of the 'natural born criminal,'' O'Donnabhain explains.

Lombroso’s theories, however, have long since been debunked.

Still, O'Donnabhain admits he can't be entirely sure that this was the purpose behind the skull modifications on Spike Island.

Messages Left Behind

After the 19th-century prison closed in 1883, the island reverted to its original purpose as a military barracks, before reopening as a prison once more from 1985 to 2004.

When O'Donnabhain arrived nearly a decade later, he was surprised to find that the beds still had their sheets on them.

Before starting the excavation, his team took note of the modern graffiti left by 20th-century prisoners.

'What stood out to me during that work was the clear connection between the Victorian prison and the modern one,' says O'Donnabhain.

The graffiti on the prison walls revealed the prisoners' nicknames, sentences, and hometowns. O'Donnabhain notes that these modern inmates came from the same 'socially disadvantaged areas' as those in the Victorian era.

'The pattern is strikingly similar, with the majority of prisoners being from impoverished backgrounds and disadvantaged communities,' he explains.

Spike Island opened to the public in 2016 and was named 'Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction' at the 2017 World Travel Awards.

O'Donnabhain notes that tourists are drawn to the island due to its haunting history.

'People are naturally attracted to places that are off-limits,' he explains. 'When you tell someone they can’t go somewhere, their curiosity makes them want to uncover what’s hidden behind the walls.'