Portumna Workhouse/Irish Workhouse Centre

The Irish Workhouse Story

163 workhouses were built in Ireland from 1840 to 1853.  The workhouse was the last resort of the starving populations of this period.  People entered the workhouse to receive food in return for work.  It was a system based on indoor relief only. Entire families had to enter the workhouse together.  The family members were then split up into separate quarters; men, women, boys and girls.  The workhouse system was also a means of getting tenants off the land.

The Irish Workhouse Centre

The Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna is the only centre in Ireland dedicated to telling the story of the Irish Workhouse. The Centre is located in a real workhouse.  While some other workhouses survive, few are as intact as Portumna.  All seven main buildings survive on an 8-acre site.The Workhouse Project is an exciting conservation and redevelopment work in progress.

The Workhouse stands in stark contrast to the Portumna Castle (seat of powerful landlords, the de Burgo family) at the other end of the town. Now that both these sites are open, visitors have the unique opportunity to experience how both the destitute poor and the landlord lived during this difficult period of Irish history. SEE ALSO: Portumna Castle and Gardens

Please check our website for opening hours and the latest visitor info. Find us on Facebook.