Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum

Donaghmore Workhouse, Rathdowney

The Donaghmore Workhouse was built to house the most desperate people of county Laois. Mandated by the Poor Law Relief Act of 1838, the Workhouse was paid for by a tax on local property owners.

Donaghmore Workhouse, Rathdowney

The Donaghmore Workhouse was built to house the most desperate people of county Laois. Mandated by the Poor Law Relief Act of 1838, the Workhouse was paid for by a tax on local property owners.

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Interior of Donaghmore Workhouse, Rathdowney

Living conditions inside the Workhouse were very grim, with families being seperated into different dormitories. Inmates worked during the day, then ate their evening meals in silence.

Interior of Donaghmore Workhouse, Rathdowney

Living conditions inside the Workhouse were very grim, with families being seperated into different dormitories. Inmates worked during the day, then ate their evening meals in silence.

Enlarge image

Visitors to the Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum will see the rooms of an Irish workhouse almost exactly as they appeared in the late-1800s. The Donaghmore Workhouse was built to house the most desperate people of county Laois. Mandated by the Poor Law Relief Act of 1838, the workhouse was paid for by a tax on local property owners.

The workhouse was deliberately made as unattractive as possible so that its only residents would be those who had lost all hope. People who entered the workhouse suffered the ultimate shame. Once inside, they gave up their clothes and put on rough workhouse uniforms. Families were split apart as boys and girls went to their separate dormitories, while adults were sent to others. Living conditions were grim. Inmates slept on rough mattresses of straw, covered with rags.

The only toilet facilities were large tubs in the centre of dormitories. Inmates worked at tasks during the day, then ate their evening meals in total silence. By the time the Donaghmore Workhouse opened in 1853, most of the poor of the area had already perished from starvation or sickness, or had emigrated.

The workhouse was probably only filled for a few years before it closed in 1886. In the early 1920s, the Black and Tans used the buildings as a barracks. Then, in 1927, the Donaghmore Co-Operative Society adapted the workhouse to serve local farmers.

After the Donaghmore Co-Op and other local co-operatives formed Avonmore, part of the workhouse was donated to the community as a place to tell the history of the area. Today, committed volunteers bring that history to life through the Donaghmore Workhouse and Agricultural Museum.

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