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Story Notes
In September, 1985, Spike Island Prison in Cork Harbour was on fire, having been taken over by prisoners.
What happened and why? This documentary details the chaotic night the prisoners escaped, found they couldn't get off the island and had to break back into the prison they had just escaped from.
The Army was sent for and then sent away again. Civilian islanders were taken hostage by prisoners but then protected by them.
The programme gathers memories from a prisoner, a prison officer; journalists and an islander.
It also deals with the broader 'why?’ The island fort was turned into a prison in the first place to deal with so-called "joyriders". Why did this penal experiment go so terribly wrong.
First broadcast Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 2pm on RTÉ Radio 1
Photo credits: 'Courtesy of Irish Examiner Archive'
Photo of islander, Claire Stack, and artwork: Peter Mulryan.
Produced by Peter Mulryan and Ronan Kelly
First broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, 2PM, Saturday 08th October 2022
An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries
Story Credits
