A major fundraising drive to restore a key section of the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna begins this Sunday with a concert from Cherish the Ladies, whose founder, Joanie Madden has links with the town. The project will create a legacy for future generations while honouring people forced into the workhouse by hunger. JUDY MURPHY hears about the ambitious plans.

It was once a place of suffering and deprivation, where people who were unfortunate enough to end up there received just enough food to keep them from starving.

But in recent years, Portumna Workhouse, which was one of 163 that operated in Ireland from the mid-1800s until the early 1920s, has had a new and happier lease of life.

As the Irish Workhouse Centre, it welcomes visitors who want to learn more about Irish social history, particularly during famine times. And it also serves as a hub for people in south-east Galway,  regularly hosting events and exhibitions.

The workhouse opened in 1852, having cost £7,875 to build and fit out, and it closed in the early days of Irish independence. Its buildings were subsequently used for storage or left idle, and fell into disrepair.

Since the late 1990s, all has changed. The not-for-profit group, South-East Galway Integrated Rural Development (SEGIRD), was set up then with the objective of ensuring the survival and restoration of this historic place.

Much has been achieved since then and now, the group is planning even more. A major fundraising drive has been launched to help finance a €700,000 restoration project in what was once the workhouse dining hall and chapel.

That’s being kickstarted this Sunday evening with a concert from trad supergroup, Joanie Madden and Cherish the Ladies which is sold out, with a waiting list for tickets.

Joanie’s father Joe emigrated to New York from Portumna in 1959 and she retains close links with the town, so she’s thrilled to support the Workhouse Centre’s fundraiser.

It’s appropriate that Sunday’s concert will be held in the former dining hall and chapel, which will benefit from the event. This was a place where “people ate in silence, with minimal food provided”, according to archaeologist and local historian Christy Cunniffe, who is on the board of the SEGIRD and a member of the fundraising committee.

Today, it’s a large, beautifully proportioned space which houses concerts and conferences, but it’s cold, as there’s no roof insulation and it has draughty windows. Replacing the windows is very expensive, as they are historic installations that have to be conserved. The space is a protected structure, as Christy explains.

“And we have a duty of care to a protected structure; you repair rather than replace.”

The aspirations for the space are clearly set out in architects’ drawings that are displayed on boards and tables throughout the room.

These show what it could be; a restored and flexible venue, ideal for concerts, conferences, exhibitions and more besides.

Just off this hall is a small space where food was cooked and Christy feels it could work as a kitchen or small café in future.

Realising the dream of reimagining this space is why €700,000 is needed, and it’s why the Workhouse Centre Board has enlisted the assistance of an expert fundraiser. New Yorker Mary Reed previously ran a successful fundraising campaign for Kylemore Abbey.

Mary and her husband John fell in love with Portumna after visiting the town more than a decade ago, while on holidays in Ireland.

“We loved it,” says John, explaining that they spend their summers there now. Long before the Workhouse Centre Board availed of Mary’s fundraising expertise, John had volunteered as a guide there.

In early November, Mary and members of the committee are travelling to New York for the fundraising campaign. They believe they will get a warm reception, given Mary’s connections there and the links between that city and Portumna.

“There are some strong New York connections, with first and second generations from here living there, people who care about Irish issues, including the famine,” says Martin Shiel of the board.

“Mary is driving the campaign for us,” he adds. “With her connections here and overseas, she is pushing us towards the end result.”

For every €100,000 the group raises, it can draw down 70 per cent in grants, “so, in real terms, we have to raise 30 per cent of the money” says Christy, who stresses that “everything had to be costed” ahead of starting.

Pictured: At the launch of the campaign in the Irish Workhouse Centre: John Reed, USA: sculptor Kieran Tuohy; Paul Mullins, Martin Shiel and Christy Cunniffe, Board members of South East Galway IRD, which is in charge of the project; Donal Burke, Manager of South East Galway IRD; Dick Ridge of Podumna and Tourism Committee member. Front; Fundraising Campaign coordinator, Mary Reed, and Pierce Joyce of South East Galway IRD.