Program Overview

Spike Island prison, Ireland’s Alcatraz, is located in Cork harbour. The prison opened in 1847 at the height of the Great Irish Famine and closed in 1883. The prison was an important holding center for convicts transported to Australia. The focus of the 2013 season will be on the convict burial ground and the bioarchaeology of the inmates. We also hope to investigate the foundations of a prison building. Archaeology provides a means of investigating daily life in the prison and the triangle of relationships between convicts, warders, and the institution, and also the place of such prisons in broader imperial systems.

Instructor Bio

Dr. Barra O’Donnabhain holds a PhD from the University of Chicago and teaches at the Department of Archaeology, University College Cork. He is a bioarchaeologist and has worked in Europe, North and South America as well as in the Middle East. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Field Research.

Student Fees

Program Costs

All fees are payable to the Institute for Field Research. Eight semester credit units are provided through Connecticut College. Program fee includes registration, accommodations, program activities, meals on workdays, and health insurance.

Airfare, weekend meals, and optional excursions are additional.

Financial Aid

Please inquire about Financial Aid at your home institution. For details about the financial aid application process, please visit the Financial Aid section of this web site.

Budgeting

How much to budget depends on your travel, entertainment and souvenir choices. It is always best to overestimate your spending. We recommend that you budget accordingly to cover optional sightseeing, laundry, internet cafes, emergencies, etc.

Expenses NOT Covered:

-Airfare to/from the pre-designated meeting place for the field school.
-Food on weekends when away from the site.
-Miscellaneous expenses.
-Sightseeing outside formal field school excursions as outlined on the syllabus.

Accommodations

It is anticipated that students will stay on Spike Island in the administration wing of the modern prison that closed in 2004. The accommodation on the island consists of bedrooms, a common room and kitchen. The rooms are comfortable and spacious and will be shared. There will be separate rooms for male and females students. There are separate male and female toilets on the corridor while showers will be in a block nearby. There will be a bed for each team member and you will need to bring your own sleeping bag and towels. 

MEALS:

All meals are provided from Monday to Friday. Students are responsible for their own meals at weekends.

Please let us know when you apply for this program if you have special dietary needs, as well as any medical or physical conditions. We will advise you accordingly. The project is used to catering for vegetarians, those with gluten intolerance etc.

EXCURSIONS

Four excursions are planned for Week 1 of the course. Two of these are half day trips to relevant sites in the nearby town of Cobh and the city of Cork while the two full day trips explore the wider region. Independent travel is possible at the weekends.

Travel Information

Students are responsible for making their own travel arrangements. Please be sure to arrive in Cork on or before Sunday, 30 June and book your departing flight for any date after Friday, 02 August.

You need to be in Cobh (pronounced cove) which is near Cork at 4pm on Sunday, 30 June. 

Most direct flights to Ireland from North America land in either Shannon (SNN) or Dublin (DUB). An easier (though not always cheaper) option is to fly to Cork (ORK) via London (LHR: more frequent flights but awful airport), Paris (CDG) or Amsterdam (AMS: less frequent but much more user-friendly airports). If you fly into Cork, take a taxi to the railway station, a short journey. From Shannon, you can take a bus from outside the terminal building to Cork (about 2 hours).  From Dublin, you can also take a bus from outside arrivals directly to Cork (about 3.5 hours) or take a local bus to Heuston Station in Dublin city centre and from there take a train to Cork. If you arrive in Cork by bus from Dublin or Shannon, you can walk to the railway station from the bus terminal.     

From Cork, you should take a train to Cobh. The journey takes 25 minutes and trains currently run every hour on the hour (liable to change; check closer to the date by visiting the Ireland Rail Travel website for more information by clicking here.). You can also take a taxi from Cork to Cobh.

VISA REQUIREMENTS:

None. The International Students’ Office at University College Cork will issue you with a letter that will explain your status and that you may show at immigration.  

HEALTH ISSUES:

For specific information regarding travel health issues pertinent to Ireland, please read the Centers for Disease Control Website. Click here to be directed to the CDC website.

Student Testimonials

This is a new program and no student testimonials are available at this time