March 18, 4:00pm
This event is on Zoom. You will receive the Zoom link after registering.
Following the introduction of the Poor Law in Ireland in 1838, workhouses were built throughout Ireland and then in 1845, the Great Famine struck. We will look at the brutal regime in the workhouses and why going into them was a last resort. Eventually outdoor relief, building works and emigration schemes were introduced to reduce the burden on the overcrowded workhouses. Of course, the workhouses had to be staffed by masters, nurses, porters, cooks, etc and they were managed by Boards of Guardians. The Irish Workhouse was a hated and feared institution and following the partition of Ireland in 1921 the newly formed Free State closed them down although they remained in existence in Northern Ireland until the 1940’s. The webinar will cover the range of records that were produced by the workhouses – they include inmates and staff. We will also cover the Poverty Relief Loans that were in existence in the 19th century. They name both the lender and the guarantor and often provide additional information about the fate of the lender.
Speaker bio:
Natalie Bodle is a full-time professional genealogist, educator and author who undertakes ancestral research throughout the UK and Ireland, specialising in Irish and Scots-Irish genealogy research. She has a Post Graduate Certificate in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde having built upon many years of family history research experience and is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). She is a frequent speaker on the local, national and international circuits on Irish genealogy topics and delivers regular genealogy courses with a focus on Irish records. A native of County Antrim, her company Roots Revealed is based in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Her first book Tracing Your Family History Using Irish Newspapers and Other Printed Material was published by Pen and Sword in Feb 2024.
More information about Natalie and Roots Revealed may be found at www.rootsrevealed.co.uk