The Irish Workhouse Museum

From left to right: Aileen O'Dowd, Mary Healy-Walshe, David Broderick, Clare Lowery, Frances Robinson, Donal Burke Last night saw the packed launch of the first ever book dedicated to a chapter of Portumna Workhouse history. Finding Ogle: The mystery of the Disappearing Master solves a century old mystery and is the debut book of Local Historian David Broderick. "In 1865 the Master of Portumna Workhouse, Henry Ogle, absconded under a shroud of mystery. It took over 150 years to finally find Ogle. Follow this fascinating story between Ogle and his nemesis, a determined missionary priest, Fr. Patrick Donnellan. The story begins in famine ravaged Ireland, explores the cruelty of the workhouse and crosses the Atlantic into the American Civil War." Original Illustration by Jenny Wood-Sullivan David became fascinated with the mystery of Henry Ogle while he was a researcher at the Irish Workhouse Centre but it has been a long road to the book lau...

The Irish Workhouse Centre is very proud to have recently hosted a selection of paintings by Killeen native Mary Conroy. The works had been created over the past 12 years and represent the first solo exhibition by the Fine Arts graduate. Mary currently resides in Cork but retains strong ties with her family in Portumna. Indeed, she attended Portumna secondary school long before she attended Crawford College of Art and Design (Cork) where she graduated with a BA in Fine Art in 2008, and a H. Dip in Art Design in 2010. The exhibition vividly showcases Mary's love of nature. Her oil paint depictions of sea splashed rocks show a perfect match of medium and subject. Sparkling light and restless waves brings life to the dark colours of her Irish seascapes. Vibrant watercolours glow with warm, welcoming shades that draw you into their country scenes. Detailed depictions of flowers show a keen botanical eye yet keep a fluid carefree style. This is not the first...