Gort Workhouse

Orphan Girls

Image
Map

Gort Workhouse on Historic 25 inch map (1897-1913)

The following information was provided by Mr Steve Dolan, Manager of The Irish Workhouse Centre, Portumna, Co. Galway

The Gort Poor Law Union was officially declared in 1839. The Workhouse was opened in 1841, making it the first in the county to open and receive inmates. It was built at a cost of £6,500. It was built to house a maximum capacity of 500 inmates, but census records show that the true number of inmates reached as high as 1,773 in 1849. The Gort Workhouse was built to accomodate people from the areas of Ardrahan, Beagh, Kilbeacanty, Killeenavarra, Killeenaran, Kilmacduagh, Kiltartan, Kilthomas, Kinvara, and also Kilkeedy in Co. Clare.

Gort Workhouse was inundated with debts due to severe mismanagement. In 1849, much of the contents of the Workhouse were sold off to pay these debts.

References

For more information see here

Ireland

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Type of Building:

Workhouse

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Comments

I Believe my great grandfather William Carr worked in this workhouse, in what capacity i do not know.

doreensav

Thursday 14th January 2021 01:29AM

Have you added him to the Ancestor Chronicles? We can connect him directly to the Workhouse. This link will take you to a video where I explain the process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG2FDXyo4EQ

Chronicles Editor

Thursday 14th January 2021 09:42AM

A record for the death of David Swift (I believe he is a relative) show he died in the Gort Workhouse in 1873. The information above states that the workhouse contents were sold off in 1849, but apparently it continued to operate as some kind of facility for the poor. Is there any information available on the date of its closing?

Also, I have an image of a document which hangs in the back of Keane's store in Gort, a framed page of the 20 May 1848 famine relief for the electoral division of Kilthomas. I would like to understand what the columns of information mean on this document. Do you know where I might find more information about that?

Molly Daniel