The Workhouse Famine and Heritage Centre
About
The grey stone workhouse on the western edge of the village opened on 24 June 1845, the year the potato crop first failed, and by 1851 it held 481 people. It closed in 1918, was declared a heritage site in 1989, and reopened as a Famine heritage centre in 1995, 150 years after it first opened. The exhibition is a self-guided audio tour through the original galleries, built around the story of Wee Hannah Herrity, a local woman who survived the hardships of the time and later told her experiences in her own words, and it ends with a short film of the Dunfanaghy area from the 1930s to the 1960s. The audio is in English, with printed transcripts in Irish, French, Italian, German and Spanish. The Workhouse is also the village's Fáilte Ireland tourist information point, with a craft shop, a small café, a playpark and the start of the Dunfanaghy Heritage Trail on the same site. The coffee shop, toilets, craft shop, cinema and part of the exhibition are on the ground floor, and a lift serves the upper section. The exhibition is not suitable for very young children, and the centre does not accept OPW Heritage Cards.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Opened 24 June 1845; 481 people living in it by 1851
- ✓Self-guided audio tour built around Wee Hannah Herrity's account
- ✓Film of the Dunfanaghy area from the 1930s to the 1960s
- ✓Tourist information point, craft shop, café and playpark on site
Tips
- →Open February to November; closed December and January except for pre-arranged groups.
- →The exhibition and café close at 16:00, an hour before the site does.
- →OPW Heritage Cards and One4All cards are not accepted.