Before the famine,
workhouses were built around Ireland to house the poor and homeless.
They were overcrowded, cold and damp places. The able-bodied
were forced to work; the men broke stones and the women knitted.
The workhouses were meant for 1% of the population, but during
the famine, 50% needed help. The workhouses could hardly
manage. Outdoor relief was brought in to take
the strain off the workhouse system.
Click on the images to the right to find out more about life in the workhouses.
The poor diet and cramped conditions meant disease and death spread quickly and many people died. Fever hospitals did little to reduce the high death rates.
Food in the workhouses was basic with only two meals a day usually made up of oatmeal or potatoes and milk. Look closely at the advertisement to see the types of food bought by the workhouse.
Workhouses had very strict rules and people were forbidden to leave. If anyone disobeyed the rules they were whipped or locked in small cells on their own.
After the famine, many workhouses were converted into hospitals. Are there any old workhouses in your area?
On arrival families were divided and men, women and children were housed in separate living quarters. In most workhouses, boys and girls were made to sleep on straw in cold attics or basements.
Every Workhouse had a journal which recorded the details of the people who lived there. Those who died were buried in the workshouse graveyard.
