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After Dark

Spike Island After Dark – Dark History Evening Tours

Spike Island After DarkStep into the shadows of Spike Island for an atmospheric and unsettling experience with our After Dark Evening Tours.

For a limited run this April and May, Ireland’s infamous prison island opens its gates as night falls – an experience usually reserved for the Halloween season. This is your rare chance to explore its haunting history in a whole new light.

Walking through creepy abandoned cells, a Victorian Era punishment block, and dark underground tunnels once used for solitary confinement is a level of immersion that cannot be faked. Be prepared for the low-lighting and sometimes pitch darkness of these centuries old areas of our fortress.

In the 19th century, Spike Island was one of the largest convict prisons in the world, often called “Ireland’s Hell”, with overcrowding and harsh conditions. From this era of solitary confinement to Spike’s use as a modern-day prison up until 2004, you’re not just hearing old folklore from our guides – you’re reliving chilling stories of life behind the walls which span centuries.

On this immersive and atmospheric tour, our guides will also recount the paranormal stories and sightings, passed down by our former island residents and staff.

These exclusive After Dark evening tours take place on April 11th, May 2nd and May 16th. With only three nights available, demand is expected to be high and advance booking is recommended.

Expect dimly lit corridors, dramatic storytelling, and an island that feels entirely different once the sun goes down. This is not your typical history tour – it’s immersive, atmospheric, and just the right side of eerie. Don’t miss this rare springtime chance to experience Spike Island After Dark.

 

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Exhibition Uncategorized

Liberated Paradox
by Thomas Hendy

In Liberated Paradox, Thomas Hendy explores freedom as a contradiction rather than a certainty. The work is shaped by personal experience — growing up in a chaotic but creative household, resisting imposed systems and later living on the margins through addiction, homelessness and imprisonment.

These experiences challenged the idea of freedom as something society promises but rarely delivers. In contrast, moments of isolation and survival often revealed a different kind of freedom, one rooted in thought rather than circumstance.

Through graphite drawing and symbolic imagery, Hendy reflects these tensions and questions where freedom truly exists.

 

Thomas Hendy

Thomas is an award-winning, self-taught artist based in Kells, County Meath.

Working primarily in rich, matt graphite, his practice centres on highly detailed drawing informed by lived experience. Through a meticulous and intuitive process, Hendy gives visual voice to emotional and psychological states that language often fails to convey.

His work explores themes of addiction, control and survival. It traces a journey from a past shaped by dependency, homelessness and incarceration to a present defined by resilience and renewal. Motivated by the narratives embedded within each piece, Hendy amplifies voices from the margins of society, inviting viewers to reconsider perceptions of addiction, mental health and economic struggle.

www.thomashendy.com