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To mark the 85^th anniversary of the 1938 handover of the ‘Treaty Ports’ from Britain to Ireland, Spike Island is hosting a new exhibition featuring a newly added collection of original artefacts which have been kindly donated to the museum by Fionnghuala Smith and her family. The collection features original documents, photographs and artefacts and will be displayed to the public for the very first time.

The collection tells the story of Daniel Cusack of Spike Island, a seaman who was employed by the [British] War Office. After the handover in 1938, Daniel was one of a small number of people who remained on the island after being offered employment by the Irish Department of Defence Fleet. One of the documents which is dated ’11^th July 1938′, appears to be one of the first official documents signed by the Irish authority at Spike Island.

Another unique artefact donated to the curatorial staff at Spike Island in 2017 is a personal eyewitness account of the handover written just minutes after the ceremony. To commemorate the 85^th anniversary this year, the Spike Island team have produced a special video based on the contents of this letter which gives visitors the opportunity to experience the excitement which surrounded Cobh and Cork Harbour on that momentous day.

The list of officers and enlisted men who arrived at Spike Island on 11 July 1938 is also on display courtesy of the Spike Island Volunteer Group.

The national flag, which is believed to be the actual Tricolour raised on the occasion of the 1938 Handover, is also exhibited. This original artefact was kindly donated to the museum by Mr Tom Kelly of Cobh in 2018.

Exhibition runs until 30 September 2023
Location: Mitchel Hall, Spike Island

The Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and other senior members of the Irish government at Spike Island.
Image courtesy: National Library of Ireland; kindly colourised by John Breslin, co-author of “Old Ireland in Colour” books.

Echoes of Isolation is a solo art exhibition by Sinéad Barrett which draws attention to the historical context of isolation on Spike Island, while also inviting reflection on the broader implications of isolation in contemporary society. The impact of isolation and displacement has become all too relevant, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ways in which it disrupted our lives and our sense of connection to others…
During the 1800s, Spike Island was used as a convict depot and prison. Many of the prisoners were subjected to solitary confinement and it is estimated that almost 1,200 convicts died on the island.

This exhibition shines a light on these forgotten voices, exploring the emotional and psychological impact of isolation. Speaking ahead of the launch of the exhibition, Sinéad said: “For the last six months, I have been doing a residency on Spike Island which has been hugely rewarding as well as educational and informative. I have loved spending time on the island wandering through the buildings and the different histories of the Fort and the island. For my residency, I concentrated on the 36 years from 1847-1883 when Spike Island was a convict depot and prison. This residency will culminate in a solo exhibition Echoes of Isolation”.

Exhibition runs from 2 June—31 August
Location: Punishment Block, Spike Island

Part of Cork Harbour Festival

Curated by Dorota Gubbins (Spike Island)

Sinéad Barrett

Sinéad Barrett is a Cork-based visual artist and Programme Coordinator with Sample-Studios. She divides her time between Cork and West Cork, painting from her surroundings environment. In 2014 she returned to education to study Fine Art, graduating from Crawford College of Art and Design in 2019. She was awarded the CIT Presidents Prize for outstanding studentship and she also received a Crawford College of Art and Design Graduate Residency and was awarded the Sample Studios Graduate Curatorial Residency Award 2019/2020. She is very active in her own artistic practice, having secured numerous exhibition opportunities since graduating and received an Arts Council Visual Arts Bursary in 2021. Her work is held in both public and private collections.

@sineadbarrettart

Sample-Studios

is an artist-led studio group based in Churchfield, Cork City that supports the professional development of contemporary arts practitioners in Cork City and beyond.

What began as a volunteer-led initiative in 2011 has grown into a professional arts organisation that manages artist studios and shared facilities in Churchfield, the city-wide TACTIC Visual Arts Programme, the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion exhibition and project space, and a successful graduate Residency Programme.

Sample-Studios is proudly supported by The Arts Council of Ireland, Cork City Council and The Community Foundation of Ireland.

Sinéad Barrett

is a Cork-based visual artist and Programme Coordinator with Sample-Studios. She divides her time between Cork and West Cork, painting from her surroundings environment. In 2014 she returned to education to study Fine Art, graduating from Crawford College of Art and Design in 2019. She was awarded the CIT Presidents Prize for outstanding studentship and she also received a Crawford College of Art and Design Graduate Residency and was awarded the Sample Studios Graduate Curatorial Residency Award 2019/2020. She is very active in her own artistic practice, having secured numerous exhibition opportunities since graduating and received an Arts Council Visual Arts Bursary in 2021. Her work is held in both public and private collections.

@sineadbarrettart

Deirdre Breen

is a multidisciplinary designer and visual artist who recently obtained her MA in Art & Process in CCAD. A  graphic design graduate from Limerick School of Art & Design she spent four years in London working as a multi-disciplinary designer, returning to Ireland in 2013 and is working as a graphic designer. Her artworks comprise screenprints, textiles and site-specific mural installations and she has a strong interest in collaborative practice. Her work is an exploration of shape and form through adventures in colour, geometry, gradation and repetition. Her work has been acquired by The Office of Public Works, Ireland, the Glucksman, UCC, Cork, and a number of private collections.
@deirdrebreen

Padraic Barrett

 is an Irish visual and performance artist born in Kerry and now living and working in Cork. Barrett graduated from CCAD with a BA in 2019 and an MA in Art & Process in 2021. His works is  primarily responsive to the imperceptible forces of surveillance capitalism and its role in the gradual deterioration of the human condition. Working and merging with performance, film and installation he focuses on the impact of a bewildering and constantly changing political theatre.  He is a member of Sample-Studios and his Recent exhibitions include Confluence, The Lavit Gallery, Cork. https://www.padraicbarrett.com   

@padraicbarrettstudio

Aoife Claffey 

is a visual artist, living and working in Cork City. Her work explores human sensory perception in provisional spaces and creates installations combining film, printmaking and sound. She recently qualified with an MA in Art & Process from CCAD She is a member of the Sample-Studios and Cork Printmakers. Her work is in the collection of Eli Lilly and has been featured in Bloomers Magazine #07: Emerging Female Artists. https://www.aoifeclaffeyart.com 

@aofieclaffeyart

Kate McElroy

is a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Cork City. She is currently in residence in Uillinn  exploring ‘The Process of Unravelling’  having recently completed her MA in Art & Process from CCAD  having completed her BA  and  Higher Diploma in Limerick school of Art and Design. She is a member of Sample-Studios and previously was a member of A4 sounds studios.  She received a travel and training award for a residence in Lasanna, Nepal  in 2017 and was selected for an interactive international project ‘Building Bridges’ (2017-2019) which toured Delhi, Kolkotta and Bangalore, India and Yangnon, Myanmar.  https://www.katemcelroy.com/

@kate_mcelroy_

Building upon a successful residency model for the exhibition Oiléan in 2021, Spike Island and Sample-Studios have further developed their collaboration for 2022/2023.
Spike Island is thrilled to host a residency for Éanna Heavey. The Sample-Studios member aims to develop a body of work that will allow for the realisation of his emerging art practice, both conceptually and in terms of the multidisciplinary nature of Éanna’s artistic work. 

“I’m an emerging, Cork-based, multi-disciplinary artist who graduated in 2018 and has shown my work locally and nationally since graduating. I had my first solo show in July 2022 with Cork Film Centre and Chapel Hill School of Art in Macroom and received the Agility Award from the Arts Council in 2021.
My practice primarily includes experimental film, analogue photography, performance and mixed media drawing and painting. The themes and interests of my work lie in exploring the male psyche; the inherent tensions and vulnerabilities of manhood from a queer, psychoanalytical perspective on male gender identity.
Concerned by ongoing high statistics in male suicide and interested in the high rates in other areas such as homelessness, addiction, and prison violence ratios, I aim to explore the psycho-social influences that may be contributing factors to these high statistics.
This will be done in a sensitive, yet avant-garde manner”. 

The work developed on Spike Island as part of this residency will culminate in an exhibition in The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion in October 2023.

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