The Irish Workhouse Museum

-Parliamentary & Civil Records- Not all records relating to Irish Workhouses were generated in-house. In fact, much of what survives today are records created by the government.  A great government record is the 1901 and 1911 Census. This census lists all the inhabitants and staff of the various workhouses. Please note that the paupers are usually listed by initials. We can also use newspapers as a surprisingly full source of information about workhouse inmates and staff alike. If you are lucky you may even find information given about a pauper's family or the conditions leading to their admittance to the workhouse. The Freeman’s Journal, 27 August 1864 for example, refers to a man named Howard, commiserating with his fate and his diet, ‘…the horrid stuff miscalled “bread”, on which he was fed was unlike anything with which the paupers were fed before’. [1] In the case of Portumna Workhouse the most useful set of records are those of the civil death registers...

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...