Most visitors come knowing something of the nineteenth-century prison that once held thousands of transported convicts and political prisoners, but the presence of a formal burial ground as a recorded archaeological monument points to layers of use that stretch well beyond the penal era.

The island has been occupied in various capacities for centuries. A Benedictine monastery was established there in the seventh century, and the site passed through ecclesiastical, military, and carceral hands across the following thirteen hundred years. Fort Mitchel, the star-shaped fortification that dominates the island, was developed extensively in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but the ground it occupies had already been shaped and reshaped by communities who lived, worshipped, and died there long before the British military consolidated control. A burial ground in such a context could plausibly be associated with the monastic period, with later garrison populations, or with the convicts who died in enormous numbers during the island's use as a holding depot in the years surrounding the Great Famine. Without more detailed site records, the precise origin and character of this particular monument remain difficult to pin down.

Spike Island is accessible by ferry from Cobh, and the fort itself is open to visitors during the warmer months. The burial ground, as a recorded archaeological monument, may not be prominently marked or interpreted on site, which makes it easy to pass without knowing it is there at all.