The Irish Workhouse Museum

-The Finnish Famine-    An Interview with Dr. Andrew Newby on his current exhibition at The Irish Workhouse Centre How did this exhibition come about? In 2012 I was pleased to receive an Academy of Finland Award to work on a five year project to compare the Irish and Finnish famines. This exhibition came out of that project. It travelled to Ireland to be displayed in The National Famine Museum at Strokestown but then migrated to the National University of Ireland, Galway. Just when I thought the exhibition had to return to Finland, I was delighted when the opportunity arose for it to be displayed at The Irish Workhouse Centre. How did you get involved in researching the Finnish Famine? I first heard about the Finnish Famine in 1997 from a Finnish Student. Being Irish and specifically a Mayo man, the topic of famine struck a chord with me. The fact that 1997 was the anniversary of Black ‘47 meant that famine research was already on the radar. I visited Fin...

Nenagh Guardian , Examination of Kitty Madden, 27 July 1864 In light of the recent Madden Gathering at the Workhouse, we have been looking at the Maddens admitted here over the years. The most riveting case we have found revolves around Mary Madden and her mother, Kitty.  Mary Madden was born about 1834. She was paralyzed, blind and suffered from seizures.   It was reported that Kitty Madden carried on caring for her daughter until the elderly lady could no longer even take care of  herself. After admission to the workhouse, there are reports of a nother inmate in the workhouse, Judy Solon, taking care of Mary Madden on occasions. However, the story of Kitty Madden and her daughter does not end here. Kitty is mentioned in newspaper articles after appearing as a witness in a workhouse inquiry. The inquiry looked into the mistreatment of paupers and their allegations of substandard food. It was stated that t he Indian meal used in the workhouse to make br...