The Irish Workhouse Museum

I am always amazed by the sheer volume of talented artists and crafts people I get to meet as part of stocking the Workhouse Gift Shop. Just when I think I've seen everything, a new product or approach comes along and I have to resist buying one of everything! All the Falling Stones is a series of atmospheric prints by photographer Claire Loader. The prints are fixed onto wooden blocks so that the prints can be free-standing as well as wall mounted. Claire is originally from the 'other' Westport, a coastal town on the South Island of New Zealand. After meeting her husband in China, she took the plunge and moved to Ireland. That was 9 years ago and the New Zealand photographer has been enchanted with Ireland ever since. Like many visitors to Ireland, Claire has never gotten over the amount of castles and abbeys, pure history, often just sitting out in a field somewhere. Immune to steady drizzles, muddy boots and even the odd unfriendly bull, Claire has set about exp...

In-house Records The workhouse system in Ireland is an often overlooked treasure trove of names, personal histories and local business names. It takes some time to find this information but it is well worth the effort. At the time of their operation, from 1840 up to the early 1920s, vast quantities of records were kept by each workhouse. These records were created by  The Board of Guardians (the group of men in each individual Poor Law Union which formed the administrative core of a workhouse), or the workhouse staff such as t he Master, Medical Officer, and Clerks.  The Board of Guardians This group of men were very interested with statistics and how their Poor Rate was being spent. To this end they discussed tenders for workhouse supplies and posts within the workhouse, salaries of staff and the suggestions of Poor Law Inspectors. From the minutes of the Board of Guardian meetings, we have a roll call of the board itself and there is evidence that the c...

August is always an exciting month for the Irish Workhouse Centre as we celebrate National Heritage Week . Running from August 18th to 26th, Heritage Week will again be a major focus here. Steve Dolan (Our current Workhouse Master) with Claire Doyle (His beautiful assistant) The aim of National Heritage Week is to preserve our folklore, ancient legends and archive the stories of our past in our minds. It is an event tailored to people of all ages and represents every facet of the Irish identity. This year, the theme of Heritage Week is ‘connections’. We encourage people to get involved and ‘make a connection’ to their heritage. Our heritage belongs to us, and it is important that we preserve and cherish it. We will host ten events over the nine days, will hold ten events off-site, and are providing nine free publications over the nine days.   No centre or museum in the county holds as many events as the Workhouse. Perhaps, some of these events might interest you......