Spike Island

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 bastion fort now 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 €5.5 million investment in exhibition and visitor spaces and accompanying tourism marketing. There were in excess of 81,000 visitors to the island during 2019, a 21% increase on 2018 numbers. Spike Island was named top European tourist attraction at the 2017 World Travel Awards.

Text adapted from “Spike Island, County Cork” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Spike Island ranks #1,146 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #16 of the 172 mapped in Ireland. Founded c. 1750, it is older than 17% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 525 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 8,280 times in the last 60 days, more than 91% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Cork, 15 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗