2014:502 - CORK HARBOUR: Fort Mitchell Pier, Spike Island, Cork

Monitoring of dredging works was undertaken at Fort Mitchell Pier, Spike Island, in Cork Harbour. The dredging was carried out in association with the installation of pontoon anchors. The upgrading of the landing facilities at Fort Mitchell Pier form part of Cork County Council’s heritage-tourism development of Spike Island.

The excavation of eight pits was monitored. The excavated material consisted of a layer of gravelly sand overlying grey silty-clay. Five timbers were uncovered from Pit no. 6 and one from Pit no. 7. The timbers appeared to be ex-situ and displayed no evidence of recent splitting or fractures. All of the timbers were heavily eroded and damage from gribble infestation. Metal fixing holes and in-situ clout-ended spikes are visible on most of the timbers. Pit 6 and Pit 7 are located close to a concrete pier where several timber uprights are visible on the foreshore at low tide. These remains appear to be remnants of a former pier structure. Although the exposed sections of the timber uprights do not display any evidence of terredo or metal fixings, it is possible that the recovered timbers are also part of this construction.

The convict’s causeway is also in the vicinity of the pontoon. The causeway, which spanned the channel between Spike Island and Haulbowline, comprised a stone causeway and wooden footbridge built in the 1860s. The causeway is not indicated on any available maps but a drawing of the area depicts the structure further east of the pontoon.