DOCUMENTING THE

HISTORY OF MAGHERAFELT

AREA UNION

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People of the workhouse

The following list of people were connected with the management of the workhouse throughout its history, 1842-1942. The list, while not definitive, gives an insight into some of the characters who served in the workhouse and opens the door for further research. [this section to be finalised and subdivided into masters, matrons, porters, nurses etc]

The end of the workhouse

The onset of the First World War in 1914 and the changes that it brought also impacted on the workhouse as both the ratepayers and the guardians began to look to alternatives to providing for the poor of the Magherafelt Union. In the south of Ireland workhouses closed en-masse after 1922 but in the north, […]

The workhouse on fire

On New Years Eve 1934 the Magherafelt workhouse infirmary went on fire and only for the actions of staff, ‘inmates’ and policemen the main building of the workhouse would have also caught fire and likely to have been left in ruins. Aided by firemen from Belfast and Ballymena who came to their rescue, two policemen […]