Carrickmacross Workhouse

Service Description

Carrickmacross Workhouse was built in 1841 to house the poor and is now restored into a Community Resource, Training and Heritage Centre by Farney Community Development Group Ltd., containing the original Children's Dormitory, with Mass Famine Graves on-site. One of 130 Workhouses built between 1841 and 1843, Carrickmacross Workhouse was built to house 500, however by 1851, nearly 2,000 men, women and children were crammed into the building. Due to the large numbers of children in Workhouses, many who were orphaned by The Great Hunger, between 1848 and 1850, 4,112 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 were emigrated from Irish Workhouses to Australia as wives and servants of the settlers and convicts there. The visitor exhibition experience at Carrickmacross Workhouse has undergone an impressive refurbishment that now includes a spell-binding audio-visual element and striking exhibits by local artists. Carrickmacross Workhouse is open for 45 minute tours at 11.30am and 2.30pm, Monday to Friday, all year round - individual, family, group, school and bus tours are welcome. Saturday and Sunday guided tours available by appointment.

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