Hobos description of the spike is far nearer the mark from my own experience.

Having spent a number of years tramping around the British Isles,our way of life was very rough and ready. We worked when we needed money for drink and drank a very lethal dose of cider and surgical spirit which we called "Jacks" and have often been questioned as to why we needed surgical spirit.

The spike was used in our way of life as a means of getting cleaned up and an address to get the NAB and we were ready to go on the road again.

In those days we didnt have Irish Welfare Agiences to look after us and were treated as an embaressament who were best ignored.

Reading this ,before I post it, makes me sound very bitter and yes I am, the Irish Government has never done anything for the real Irish down and outs.