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 question of why this happened. 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?
Spike Island – Spontaneous Madness airs on RTÉ Radio 1, Saturday 8th October, 2.00pm. It is available on all podcast platforms and on rte.ie/podcasts. The documentary is produced by Ronan Kelly.
The multi-award winning RTÉ Documentary on One team brings us deep into stories that inform and entertain each Saturday. Further information at https://www.rte.ie/doconone/