The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-04-08
QUEENSTOWN ISLANDS
Description Of the Place From Which
Consul Frost Send Messages About
Torpedoing Of Ships.

Describing Queenstown, the place
! from which Consul Frost has sent so
many messages telling of torpedoed
ships, the National Geographic Soci-
ETY. says in a bulletin issued recently
Queenstown is likely to be a cen.
ter of news of the German submarine
crusade, inasmuch as the ordinary
channels of shipping pass near by.
The town, numbering slightly more
than 5000 souls. has a threefold dis.
tinction as a seaport, a water place
and a British naval station Ii is a
well built and attractive place, with
a mild climate, and, being built upon
an island. its streets rise in terraces
one above the other and offer a su-
.perb outlook over the neighboring
waters.
within fifty years the place was
only a small fishing village and was
| known as the Cove of Cork Its pres
ent name was received in lS49 by
reason of its having been the first spot
in Ireland upon which Queen Victoria
set foot
1T still serves as the port OF the
city of Cork from which It is twelve
miles distant Cork itself Is located
at the point Of entry of the River Lee
into the bay
"The harbor of Queenstown is spen.
didly defended by two forts Carlisle
and Camden-at its entrance. and BY
| Fort Westmoreland, which Is situated
! YtnAn GTNiEn leland 90
of three isles which make up the gov
ernment dock yard and constitute the
| fine natural breakwater OF the har.
! Dor, wherein a large fleet can find
safe anchorage.
Spike Island. according to writer
in the journal of the Cork Historical
and Archaeological Society. excels any
island in the circuit OF the British
Isles in its chequered, albeit uneyent-
full, history Upon no other island
on the Irish coast, he declares, have
so many strangesr' eyes rested or so
few persons voluntarily set foot-the
point of the last comment being that
here for many years was situated the
chief convict prison for all Ireland
1T was once one OF the holy isles
Of the past along with Iona. Mont st.
Michel and the Skellgs, and here a
monastery was built by st. Mochaud,
who had received the island from Ca
thai king OF Munster, for that he had
been healed by the hoyl man of deaf.
ness, blindness and dumbness. From
the seventh to the twelfth century,
however, the record of the holy is.
land is a complete blank, caused. no
doubt, by the disappearance of the
Z monastery At the later date Spike
Island became Anglo-NOrman spoil
under the charter of Henry H., whence
another hiatus Of 800 years takes
place in its history, and it is recorded
that the place is infested by SNUG.
glers.
Toward the end of the eighteenth
century the island passed to the
Crown, and no time was lost in forti.
flying it. In 1879 battery of twenty.
four guns had been installed, and in
1890 the position was named Fort
Westmoreland by the nobleman OF
that family who at the time was Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland and visited the
island.
1.-TWO years before the queens visit
to the town. Spike Island was made a
convict depot, upon the abolishment
of the transportation scheme Of pun.
ishment which had been in vogue.
Cork harbor had been a concentration
point for these .unfortunates, who
were huddled into prison ship while
awaiting their deportation. Soon as
many as $500 convicts were to be
found at Spike and they were employ.
ed at work upon the Notifications. A
system Of good conduct rewards was
established and the length of impris.
onment and the privileges to be en-,
joyed were made determinable by the
conduct OF the prisoners while under
detention The island ceased to be a
prison in 1855, at which time it was
handed over to the military authori
ties"