Irish Workhouse Reality: What Your Ancestor Truly Faced

Above is a picture of the memorial sculpture of the Irish Workhouse Gates between Ennistymon and Lahinch, County Clare. The words are from a real-life note:

“Gentlemen,

There is a little boy named Michael Rice of Lahinch aged about 4 years. He is an orphan, his father having died last year and his mother has expired on last Wednesday night, who is now about being buried without a coffin!! Unless ye make some provision for such. The child in question is now at the Workhouse Gate expecting to be admitted, if not it will starve.

Robs.S. Constable.

Céad Míle Fáilte – and welcome to your Letter from Ireland for this week.

There’s an early feel of Autumn here in the air in County Cork. The temperatures have backed off a degree or two and it’s almost dark by 9.30 in the evening. How are things in your part of the world today?

I’m having a cup of Lyons’ tea as I write, and I do hope you’ll join me now with a cup of whatever you fancy as we start into today’s letter.

Over the past number of years, I have heard from a number of readers who shared that their Irish ancestor died in one of Ireland’s Workhouses. Just last week, Maureen from Australia commented that:

My grgr grandmother is recorded as dying in Nenagh Workhouse in County Tipperary in 1886. She was a widow by that time and all of her sons and daughters had emigrated? I had heard bad things about the Workhouse, but now wonder if the workhouse was really a hospital or hospice of some type.”

So, Maureen’s enquiry has led to today’s letter. I’d like to share with you the grim reality of life within the Irish Workhouses, institutions that stand as stark reminders of Ireland’s struggles with poverty and famine. These establishments, born out of necessity yet remembered by many with horror, left an indelible mark on Irish history. However, in the years following the Great Hunger they often worked in a similar manner to county hospitals – and were staffed by professional nurses such as the Sisters of Mercy.

Let’s find out some more.

The Birth of the Irish Workhouse System.

The Irish workhouse system emerged against a backdrop of rapid population growth, economic stagnation, and widespread poverty. You see, between 1780 and 1840, Ireland’s population had nearly doubled from 4 million to 8 million, straining an already inequitable land system. A small number of landlords owning the majority of land, while most people worked as tenant farmers or landless labourers.

As families grew in size, land was further subdivided, resulting in plots that were too small to sustain a family. This, coupled with an over-reliance on potatoes as a staple crop, left much of the population vulnerable to crop failures and food shortages. Add to this situation limited industrialisation, political unrest, and recurring health epidemics.

So, it was in this context that the Irish Poor Law Act of 1838 was introduced, which established the Irish workhouse system. By the start of the Great Famine in 1845, 123 workhouses had been built across Ireland, each designed to accommodate around 100,000 people. However, the devastating impact of the Great Famine starting in 1845 would soon overwhelm the original intention of these workhouses.

Life Within the Irish Workhouse Walls.

Entering an Irish workhouse was a decision of last resort, taken only by those in the direst circumstances. Why enter a workhouse? Well, extreme poverty, homelessness, widowhood, old age, illness, and the ravages of famine were the main reasons that drove people to seek support in these institutions. However, the price of admission was steep – surrendering all personal freedom and possessions. Families were mostly separated upon entry, with men, women, and children assigned to different quarters.

A typical day in the workhouse was one of monotony and hardship. Inmates were roused at 6 AM by the harsh ringing of a bell. Breakfast, served at 6:30 AM, consisted of a meagre portion of “stirabout” (a thin porridge of Indian meal) and a small piece of stale bread. From 7 AM onwards, all able-bodied inmates were put to work. Men might find themselves breaking stones in the yard, while women often picked “oakum” – unraveling old ropes into fibres. Even children were not spared from labor.

Meals were sparse, designed to sustain life and nothing more. The evening hours brought little comfort, with families catching only fleeting glimpses of one another in the yard. By 8 PM, all inmates were locked in their dormitories, where they slept on bare wooden boards with only thin blankets for comfort.

The Irish workhouse system was deliberately harsh and uninviting, operating under the principle of “less eligibility” – the notion was that conditions in the workhouse should be worse than those of the lowest-paid labourer outside. This was meant to discourage dependence on poor relief, but in reality, it often served only to punish the most vulnerable members of society.

The Legacy of the Irish Workhouse.

As the 19th century progressed, the role of workhouses began to shift. The devastating impact of the Great Famine and subsequent emigration led to changes in both legislation and population. Many older Irish workhouses were upgraded or replaced with facilities that had medical care at their core, often run by the Sisters of Mercy.

Legislation was also introduced to allow for medical care to be administered outside the workhouse through a dispensary system. This meant that many people seeking temporary medical support no longer needed to enter a workhouse. Because of this and the emigration of able-bodied men and women, workhouses increasingly became places for looking after the truly sick, destitute, elderly, and orphaned.

By the late 19th century, reforms began to take shape. The Local Government (Ireland) Act of 1898 abolished the old Poor Law Unions and transferred workhouse administration to newly formed county councils. In the early 20th century, many Irish workhouses were repurposed as hospitals or county homes for the elderly and infirm. The Irish Free State, established in 1922, officially abolished the workhouse system, though some institutions continued to function as hospitals or homes for some time after.

Today, while many of these buildings have been lost to time, several have been preserved and repurposed as museums. These sites, such as the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, Co. Galway, and the Dunfanaghy Workhouse Heritage Centre in Co. Donegal, offer us a tangible connection to this difficult chapter of our history.

Thank you to Maureen for sharing your comments – I hope this letter offers some insight into the place where your grgr grandmother spent her final days.

I encourage you to visit these preserved workhouses if you have the opportunity. They serve not only as memorials to those who suffered but also as educational resources, helping us to understand and learn from our past. They offer a profound and moving experience, bringing the dry pages of history to life in a way that words alone cannot convey.

How about the rest of our readers? Did any of your Irish ancestors enter a Workhouse? If you are a Plus member then do let us know in the comments section below, otherwise send us an email.

Slán for now,
Mike.

For Further Reading:

1. “The Workhouses of Ireland: The Fate of Ireland’s Poor” by John O’Connor (Anvil Books, 1995) – A comprehensive overview of the Irish workhouse system.
2. “The Irish Poor Law, 1838-1948” by Virginia Crossman (Four Courts Press, 2006) – An in-depth analysis of the Poor Law system in Ireland.
3. “The Workhouse: The People, The Places, The Life Behind Doors” by Simon Fowler (The National Archives, 2007) – While primarily focused on English workhouses, it provides valuable insights into the workhouse system.

Online Resources:

1. The Irish Workhouse Centre (www.irishworkhousecentre.ie) – Offers a wealth of information, including historical background and educational resources.
2. The Workhouse (www.workhouses.org.uk) – While primarily focused on the UK, this site includes valuable information on Irish workhouses.
3. Ask About Ireland (www.askaboutireland.ie) – Features a section on workhouses with historical context and images.

Further Genealogical Research:

For those interested in tracing family members who may have lived in workhouses, consider the following usual resources:

1. Irish Genealogy (www.irishgenealogy.ie) – A free government website that provides access to various historical records. Civil records (especially death records) will indicate that an individual was the inmate of a workhouse at the time of their death.
2. The National Archives of Ireland (www.nationalarchives.ie) – Holds surviving workhouse records, though many were destroyed during the Civil War.
3. Local county libraries and heritage centres often hold microfilm copies of workhouse records for their area.
4. FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) – Offers free access to many Irish historical records, including some workhouse records.
5. FindMyPast (www.findmypast.ie) – A subscription-based service with a large collection of Irish records, including some workhouse records.

For help in using these resources and learning to trace an Irish ancestor then you can visit our free course: How to Research Your Irish Ancestors.