Author: Arek

Martin Cahill was a Dublin crime lord who became famous in his lifetime as Ireland’s most notorious criminal, and he is considered by many to be the best-known Irish criminal of all time.  His exploits were the subject of a movie, television series and numerous books and his story shone a light on some dark areas of 1980s Irish society.  His time spent in Spike Island prison cells was just one chapter in a lifetime story of a crime that included thefts which made worldwide headlines, but his ending was not to be a happy one.

He was born in a rough part of Dublin’s north side in 1949 as the second of 12 children.  Along with his brother, he was involved in stealing food to feed their family as soon as they entered school.  He progressed to house burglary and soon armed robbery and when he applied to join the Navy he was refused due to his criminal record.  His targeting of security vans transporting cash from bank to bank saw him listed as one of Dublin’s most dangerous criminals.

His national fame really came in 1983 when he planned and carried out the theft of over 2 million Irish Punts (about 2.5 million Euro today) of gold and diamonds from O’Connors jewellers in Harolds Cross.  The well planned theft made national headlines and marked Cahill’s graduation to high value targets.  The Garda were unable to pin him down for the crime and he was free to plan the next, and his target was even more ambitious.

Cahill had identified paintings of extremely high value at Russborough house in 1986, a privately owned stately home in county Wicklow.  He and his gang carried out a heist and 18 paintings were taken, including Jan Vermeer’s ‘The Letter Writer’ which now hangs in the Irish National Gallery as one of its most prized possessions.  When Cahill stole the painting it was one of only two Vermeers privately owned the other was in the collection of Queen Elizabeth of Britain.

Other works including a Goya, two Rubens, two Metsus and a Gainsborough meant the haul was worth close to a hundred million Punts and the haul is considered the second-largest art heist of all time.  Cahill and his gang were unable to sell the valuable paintings due to the notoriety of the theft, which made headlines worldwide.  Though some were quickly recovered many lay hidden in the Dublin mountains for many months and years.  The robbery proved to be an ill-advised move and all but two of the paintings were recovered, 2 Venetian scenes created by Gaurdi which would be worth many millions today.  They are suspected to still be hidden in the Dublin mountains, with only Martin Cahill knowing their whereabouts.

After the crime Cahill developed something of a mystical status in Irish culture, with some seeing him as a folk hero, the poor Dublin native taking on the authorities.  He was identifiable to many for covering his face with his hand, and the media named him ‘The General’ to avoid libel issues.  But time was running out for Martin Cahill and his ‘Robin Hood’ reputation. A 1988 television special named him as the man responsible for a car bombing of Ireland’s chief forensic scientist which left him lame, and also publically linked him with the 1983 jewellery robbery which had resulted in the loss of 100 jobs. A special police task force called the ‘Tango Squad’ was set up to provide 24/7 surveillance on Cahill and his gang. He found himself unable to operate normally and so a prisoner of his own making, with few friends. His attempts to sell the paintings he had stolen to the Ulster Volunteer Force, the enemy of the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, infuriated the Republicans and made him dangerous enemies.  It was also pointed out by government ministers that Cahll owned a large luxurious property, far beyond what his known income could have generated, prompting more scrutiny.

It was in 1988 that Cahill was sent to Spike Island, to serve 4 months for ‘breaching the peace’.  The Irish police were following a tactic employed against other famous international criminals like Al Capone, arresting their mark for any law-breaking they could prove.  It was considered too dangerous for Cahill to be held in Dublin prisons so he was sent to Cork harbour, which also had the added benefit of making it more difficult for him to organise his gang.  His only words to the waiting reporters on the pier in Cobh as he was taken to the island were Que Será, Será.  By all accounts Cahill was peaceful and respectful during his time on the island, keeping out of sight and not drawing attention to himself.  He was engaged in the activities of the period like school classes and some light work like painting, plastering, gardening and other work.

(Click the image to see the RTE archive video of Martin Cahill’s boarding the boat to Spike Island Cork)

In 1994 luck ran out for Cahill.  He was driving alone to return a rented video when a pair of men on a motorcycle stopped beside him at traffic lights and the passenger shot him at point-blank range.  The pair sped off and Ireland’s most notorious criminal of the 20th century was dead.  The provisional IRA would claim responsibility, although other theories included assassination by some of his fellow gang members when he demanded a share of profits from a drugs ring they had created.  Some years after his murder the government set up the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) which took possession of property and goods where there was no proof of how the funds were ascertained, including Cahll’s old house. Cahill’s lifestyle had led to the foundation of a permanent change in Irish legislation and policing.  He left behind 5 children from his wife Francis and a reported 4 more from her sister Tina.  The relationship with his spouse’s sister was supposedly not contested by his wife.

While recognised today as a brutal and dangerous man who carried out many life-altering crimes, the daring and ambition of some of his thefts are also clear.  He remains one of the most enigmatic characters of the 20th century in Ireland and the film ‘The General’ earned the Best Director credit for John Boorman at the Cannes Film Festival, while the 2000 film ‘Ordinary Decent Criminal’ starring Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell was loosely based on his life.  Visitors to Spike Island today can see the original 1980’s cells in which he was Martin Cahill was held.

One of the most famous and crafty prisoners of all time was surely James Grey, or ‘Jack in the Box’ as he was more famously known in Victorian-era Ireland and Britain.  James was a Manchester-born thief who came up with a crafty plan.  He identified that the trains steaming their way around the country carried with them many rich and well-heeled passengers, who would leave their considerable valuables in luggage trunks which were kept in a special carriage for the duration of the journey.

Also travelling on the train were letters and goods being sent all over Britain and Ireland which often contained valuable items.  How could Grey get at those valuables given the security the train companies employed to protect both the luggage and the mail?

His crafty plan was to create a specially rigged luggage trunk that had springs which allowed him to open it from the inside.  He added air holes and would climb inside with a little food and water and have his friends mail him from Liverpool all the way to Cork and Dublin, meaning a train and ferry journey.  While the journey was underway he would wait for the right time and pop out and rob the other luggage on the train, as well as any mail he identified was likely to contain valuables!  He would climb back inside his trunk and leave the whole scene completely as he found it, being careful not to ellicit suspicion. Once he arrived at his destination in Cork or Dublin his accomplices would collect him on the other side, leaving the train’s security completely baffled as to how the crime was committed.

Despite what must have been a cramped and difficult journey the ruse was so successful that he made a number of journeys and each time came away with profitable hauls.  On one occasion he hit the jackpot when a luggage trunk contained fine silver spoons which were worth over £2000, a lot of money in the 1860s.  Even with having to pay accomplices on both sides of the Irish Sea, he was able to live a good life in Manchester, renting a large house with many of the finer things.

It was estimated he got away with the crime for a number of years and journeys but he was eventually found out.  Grey had befriended a homeless man and offered him a room in his house. One evening the lodger was reading about a reward for some stolen fine shawls, and those very same shawls were draped around the chair he sat on!  He reported this to the police and James Grey was arrested and sentenced to 4 years in prison.

He was sent back to Ireland and Cork in a very different box, this time to spend 4 years in Spike Island’s cells.  After his release, he was never heard from again, so perhaps he had enough of cramped spaces after his time at Spike.  His well-thought-out crime made the headlines right across Britain and Ireland, and he must have endured a lot of ribbing from his fellow inmates at Spike Island Cork.

Did you have your communion at age 7?  If so did you know that a little Irish girl is the reason you did, and that same Irish child may well be Ireland’s next saint?

Little Nellie – Ellen Organ was born in Waterford in 1903 but moved to Spike Island with her soldier father and family when he was stationed on Spike Island.  She displayed a precocious spiritual awareness as soon as she could speak, constantly displaying her religious knowledge and spiritual passion.  She adored the walk along Spike Islands shoreline to the village church which she made often with her mother on the way to mass.

When her mother tragically died of TB, Ellen was taken into the care of the Sisters of the Good Shepard convent in Sunday’s Well*, Cork.  Here the sisters spotted her religious understanding which was well beyond her years and were devastated to learn that this pious child had contracted TB, the same disease which claimed her mother’s life.  Despite her affliction her devotion grew and Ellen would begin to describe visions and conversations with God and Jesus.  She displayed knowledge of the Trinity beyond her years and she could tell without fail whether or not a person had been to mass and received Holy Communion.  In spite of her illness, she was always said to be in good spirits and her positivity both inspired and upset the sisters.

She began to express her adamant wish that she receive her first Holy Communion.  At the time children received their Holy Communion at the age of 12 and younger that this age was unheard of, let alone at the age of 4.  The sisters were well aware of this but so moved they contacted the local Bishop, who despite there being no precedent was utterly convinced that Ellen was ready to receive Holy Communion.  At age 5 her wish came through and she remains the youngest ever recorded recipient of Holy Communion.

She died soon after in 1908 and was buried in her communion dress at St Joseph cemetery in Cork, but at the sister’s wishes she was moved to the Good Shepard’s cemetery where she had spent her last days.  On exhuming her body one year after her burial the priest and two men present reported she was found to be completely in-corrupt, unchanged in appearance, as if she had been buried the day before.

The story of this Irish child would reach Pope Pius X in Rome soon after her death, and the Pope had in private contemplation been considering lowering the age of Communion for children from 12.  On hearing the story of ‘Little Nellie’ he exclaimed “This is the sign I have been waiting for”, and at what he saw as a direction from God he duly lowered the age of Communion for all Catholics from 12 to 7.  Queen Isabelle of Spain requested one of her relics be sent to her, as did a prestigious French family with royal connections.

How many hundreds of millions of Catholics worldwide since her time have been affected by this little girl’s devotion?

The story of Little Nellie is now back before the council of Rome, who are considering her for Sainthood over 110 years after Pope Pius X asked for it, but his passing meant it did not happen at the time.  Since then other miracles have been attributed to Little Nellie, as she is known, as people praying to and visiting the grave of this influential child have reported.

You can see the house she lived in on Spike Island and visit a re-creation of her room to see relics and learn more about her tragic story.

* (The Good Shepard’s covnet in Sunday’s well is one of many ‘Magdalene laundries’ locations in Ireland from which terrible stories of abuse and unmarked graves abound.  Perhaps as a result of the ‘pious’ image the nuns had of her, there is no factual evidence that this influenced Ellen during her short stay there.)

There is compelling evidence suggesting the existence of an early monastic site on Inis Píc. This is noted in the Annals of the Four Masters, compiled between 1632 and 1636, where one of the annals mentions the abbot ‘Sealbhach of Inis Píc’ in 821.  Further evidence comes from Monasticon Hibernicum, published in 1786, which names St. Mochuda as the founder of a monastery. According to this account, he placed three brothers with the bishop, alongside twelve of his disciples, within the monastery.

Additionally, a 12th-century charter of Henry II describes the island as an Anglo-Norman property and references a church or religious house located there.

However, despite these historical references, no physical traces of the elusive monastic site have yet been discovered.

 

Spike Island: the First Two Forts

The first fort on Spike Island was a modest affair. In 1779 the British Army erected an earthwork fort on the south-east corner of the island, armed by a battery of eighteen 24-pounder cannons. It did not last long. When the American War of Independence ended in 1783, the threat of attack receded and the fort was demolished to save on rent costs. However, it was not long before a new fort was planned.

In 1789 work began on a second fort. Designed by Colonel Charles Vallancey (1731-1812), Chief Engineer of Ireland and named Fort Westmoreland (albeit with a different spelling) in honour of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland KG PC (1759-1841), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, this was a far more impressive affair. It was built of stone, with a bomb-proof tower rising high above the walls, and armed with 60 guns and mortars, some mounted on field carriages. As the fort was built on a corner of the island, if an enemy chose to exploit this weakness and land on the island out of sight of the fixed guns, the garrison would be forced to fight in the open using the mobile field guns.

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The ‘New’ Fort Westmoreland

With the regicide of King Louis XVI of France and the outbreak of war between Britain and France in 1793, the British once again began to fear an invasion of Ireland. In 1796 the French did indeed attempt to invade Ireland, though they targeted Bantry Bay rather than Cork Harbour. In his Military Itinerary of Ireland (1796) Vallancey suggested that the French chose Bantry Bay rather than Cork because they knew that Cork Harbour was ‘strongly fortified’ though he noted that ‘If the enemy had taken possession of Carlisle or Camden forts, at the entrance of the harbour, he would soon have driven us out of Spike Island (the principal defence and strength of this harbour).’

In 1802, General John Hope PC KB FRSE (1765-1823), 4th Earl of Hopetoun, recommended that a major fortress be constructed on Spike Island. He considered Spike Island to be ‘the true point of defence’ for Cork Harbour. Lieutenant General David Dundas (1735- 1820) was consulted by the Duke of York, Commander in Chief, who also recommended that a fortress should be erected on Spike Island.

Although the 1796 French invasion failed, the threat remained throughout the Napoleonic Wars. The British decided to strengthen the defences of Cork Harbour with a series of five Martello towers and three forts – Camden Fort, Fort Carlisle and a ‘new’ Fort Westmoreland on Spike Island – to provide an impregnable defence of the harbour, the naval base at Haulbowline and the victualling station.

Work on the ‘new’ Fort Westmoreland began in 1804 with a design that was, for the time, the pinnacle of defensive military architecture. It was constructed on a distinctive star-shaped plan, with six corner bastions – angled to maximize defensive fire from concealed positions – connected by ramparts and surrounded by a dry moat. Most of the buildings were well hidden to prevent bomb damage. Outside the fort was a glacis, a smooth slope extending outwards from the edge of the moat, designed to leave attackers nowhere to hide.

On 6 June 1804 the foundation stone of the new fortress was laid by Major General Sir Eyre Coote KB (1762-1823) and construction began under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Charles Holloway (1749-1827). It was an enormous undertaking. In 1815 the workforce consisted of 161 labourers, 116 masons, 63 quarrymen, 22 carpenters, 13 apprentice carpenters and 10 boatmen. Yet, sixteen years later, because of problems and delays in the early years of construction, only the rudiments of the fort were in place. By that time the Napoleonic Wars were over and, once again, the threat of invasion had receded. Accordingly, work was abandoned, leaving Fort Westmoreland incomplete and lightly garrisoned. In fact, the fort would not be completed until the 1860s. Instead, in 1847, it was converted into a convict prison and a new chapter opened in the history of Spike Island.

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Treaty Port

On 6 December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London. It effectively concluded the War of Independence and set in motion a series of events that would bring into existence the Irish Free State exactly one year later. Under the terms of the treaty, Britain retained sovereignty over three strategically important ports in Ireland, known collectively as the ‘Treaty Ports’: Cobh (then called Queenstown) and Berehaven, both in County Cork, and Lough Swilly, in County Donegal.

The British government retained a military presence on Spike Island until 11 July 1938, the seventeenth anniversary of the truce that was the beginning of the end of the War of Independence. On this date, the island was ceded to the Irish State. The handover ceremony took place in the presence of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, and other senior members of the Irish government.

Following the handover, Spike Island became an Irish Army base garrisoned by the Artillery Corps, Coastal Defence Artillery (CDA). During the Second World War (known in Ireland as ‘The Emergency’), Fort Westmoreland played a key role in the protection of the harbour, just as it had during World War One. All ships entering the harbour were inspected to ensure that they posed no threat and it was the six-inch guns of Spike Island that enforced this system.

The guns fired blank ammunition to warn merchant craft who were not observing the rules and on one occasion two sand-filled rounds had to be fired before a vessel complied. The master of an offending vessel ended up in the District Court and was usually fined. During this period, and again in the 1970s, the fort also housed a military detention barracks for soldiers who had committed military offences.

In 1951, Fort Westmoreland was renamed Fort Mitchel in honour of John Mitchel, the island prison’s most famous inmate.

Buildings and Artefacts Spike Island