Creative project takes on Athy Workhouse

THE workhouse in Athy has been the subject of engaging art project.

‘Reclaiming the Workhouse’ sees artist photographer Brian Cregan work with local communities to explore and reflect on the heritage and history of the workhouse in Athy through a series of creative workshops this autumn.

"In 2023, Creative Ireland Kildare funded a county archives project to conserve and digitise Athy Workhouse records and run a workshop for creative practitioners," says Karel Kiely, historian with the Kildare County Archives. "Arising from this successful project, the county archives was invited to photograph the unused part of the former workhouse/county home to ensure there was a record of this unique building.

“Workhouses and county homes have a unique place in Irish history; they operated from the early 1840s to the early 1920s and were described by historian John O’Connor as ‘the most feared and hated institution ever established in Ireland’, a place for those who are often lost and forgotten to history.

"Brian’s project will use the digital photographic archive of the building to provide creative opportunities to explore a sense of place, heritage, and identity, enhance and support Co Kildare's local cultural and creative community and enhance wellbeing through creative participation." 

Like many of its kind in Ireland, Athy Workhouse has undergone several transformations over time. From an institution that symbolised oppression and despair to a hospital providing care for older people, the building is an important part of the area's history, both architecturally and socially.

The project hopes to enhance well-being through creative participation with the local community. A key element has been a series of photography workshops at Athy Library and with Athy Photographic Society. Brian is currently working with teacher Clodagh Doyle from Scoil Phádraig Naofa and 5th-class pupils and their teachers. Pupils are learning to take better photographs and improve their visual literacy skills by looking at old photographs of Athy.

The project will also include talks and presentations about the workhouse.

For more information on the project see: https://www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/event/reclaiming-the-workhouse/.