Why did Spike Island close?
Sophia Bowman
Updated on May 14, 2026
Simply so, when did Spike Island close?
2004
Also, is Spike Island Open all year? Closed for Winter season. Reopening February 2021. Book regular visit, includes return ferry, short tour, free map & app and access all areas. Went over to Spike Island during the summer.
Similarly one may ask, is Spike Island Open now?
The 'abandoned jail' on Spike Island has remained closed since the prison shut in 2004. Over the centuries the A/B class cells have housed British soldiers, famine era convicts, 1921 Irish rebels, Irish army personnel and inmates of the 1985-2004 prison.
What is on Spike Island?
In the last 1300 years Spike island has been home to rioters and redcoats, captains and convicts, monks and monasteries and sinners and saints. Its beautiful 104 acres have housed an Island Monastery, Fortress, Prison and Homes and today the island can be reached by a short and scenic ferry from the heritage town Cobh.