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The Workhouse System in Ireland

Down County Museum, Downpatrick, English Street, Downpatrick, County Down, BT30 6AH
Image showing the standard layout of an Irish Workhouse

About

This free talk provides historical context for the current Downpatrick Workhouse exhibition in Down County Museum. It explains how and why workhouses were introduced to Ireland, what life was like in the workhouse and how the system faced the crisis of the Great Famine in the late 1840s. The people running the workhouses will be introduced along with stories of the people forced to turn to the workhouse as a last resort.

Dr Robyn Atcheson is a social historian who specialises in workhouses in the nineteenth century. Robyn teaches at Queen's University Belfast as well as running tours and events on medical history and women's history. She is currently working on a project to commemorate the burial ground of the Belfast workhouse and researching workhouses across Ulster.

Facilities

Accessibility

  • All areas accessible to disabled visitors

Parking & Transport

  • On site parking
  • Station nearby

Guide Prices

Ticket TypeTicket Tariff
TicketFree

Please contact the organiser for any further information that's required.

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Tel +44 (0)330 137 4049

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What's Nearby

  1. Down County Museum is located in the old county Gaol of Down. It houses fascinating…

    0 miles away
  2. The Saint Patrick Centre is the only permanent exhibition in the World about Ireland’s…

    0.07 miles away
  3. Down Cathedral, a Cathedral of the Church of Ireland with magnificent stain glass…

    0.11 miles away
  1. Located in the heart of Downpatrick, Down Arts Centre is the operational base for the…

    0.16 miles away
  2. Travel back to the past with real vintage steam trains through St. Patrick's Country,…

    0.24 miles away
  3. Built 1954 to the designs of S. McIlveen of Ferguson and McIlveen, Belfast. This is a…

    0.29 miles away
  4. The foundation stone of this church was laid by Bishop Dorrian in 1886.

    0.36 miles away
  5. Located on the north bank of the Quoile River, Inch Abbey was founded by John de Courcy…

    0.69 miles away
  6. The Strangford Lough and Lecale AONB boasts stunning landscapes and includes one of the…

    0.9 miles away
  7. Mourne Gullion Strangford Geopark is a UNESCO Global Geopark and recognised Area of…

    0.9 miles away
  8. The Reserve provides a relaxing natural retreat and offers visitors tranquil riverside…

    1.66 miles away
  9. Struell Wells was built around a stream flowing through a secluded valley. It was a…

    1.72 miles away
  10. Two miles outside Downpatrick is the replica of St Patrick's first church in Ireland.…

    1.92 miles away
  11. Castlescreen Farm is a working family run farm with many faces.

    Come and join us for one…

    3.21 miles away
  12. Situated 8.8km south east of Ballynahinch, on the north east shore of Loughinisland Lake,…

    3.51 miles away
  13. Restored ruins of a sixth century church of St. Tassach, said to have given the last…

    4.06 miles away
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