Letterkenny Museum, formerly Letterkenny Workhouse

The Letterkenny Workhouse, which now houses the Letterkenny Museum, was originally built in 1845 to cater for the poorest of the poor, who had no other option but to go there.Before 1870, these buildings were officially known as Poorhouses. Letterkenny Workhouse was one of 8 such workhouses built in the county, following the Poor Law of Ireland in 1838. George Wilkinson was the architect who designed all the workhouses in Ireland, and as a result, all the buildings are similar apart from their size. Letterkenny workhouse was originally designed to cater for 500 inmates, but at the time of the Great Famine in 1847, there were 573 people housed there (527 in the workhouse + 46 in Fever Hospital). This is the largest number ever recorded there.

In 1923, the newly -formed Dáil of the Free State, passed an act that abolished all workhouses in Ireland, and any remaining inmates in Letterkenny at that time were sent to the County Home in Stranorlar.

Click on Learn more below to watch our video of the curator of the museum, Caroline, give a description of what life was like for those unfortunate to enough to end up in a workhouse in Ireland, and to hear about how the former workhouse has been used following its closure in 1923.