The newly restored Enniskillen Workhouse has officially been opened to be used as a hub for learning about its history as well as an enterprise centre for local businesses in Co Fermanagh.
The joint venture by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and South West College has seen the building off the Cornagrade Road ‘sympathetically restored’ to conserve its historic features, and will host a heritage hub on site for visitors.
Workhouses were institutions which operated in Ireland between the 1840s and 1920s, where poor people would go to live and work in return for food - often in horrific conditions.
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More than 2,000 people died in the Enniskillen Workhouse during the Famine.
The newly restored Workhouse features exhibitions which tell the story of its inmates, the famine period and the lives within it up until its closure in 1948.
The new business hub in the premises contains co-working desks, private offices, event and meeting spaces which are all available to hire.
The project was completed this year with more than £2m in funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council chair, Barry McElduff, says the council is delighted with the finished Workhouse.
“The conservation and transformation of the Workhouse has been excellent, and we are delighted with the finished result,” Cllr Mcelduff said.
“Our ambitious project supported with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund show how an historic building with an emotive past can be restored to become not only a sustainable asset for the local community, and visitors nationally and internationally but can also provide a supported environment for the creation of high growth companies, vital for the growth of the local economy."
Students of the nearby South West College’s new Erne campus will be able to make use of the facilities at the Workhouse, says the college’s chief executive Celine McCartan.
“We are delighted that the Workhouse is now open to the public following the truly inspiring transformation of the building.
“South West College is immensely proud of our partnership with Fermanagh and Omagh District Council on this project and the outcome demonstrates the very best in collaborative working arrangements,” Celine said.
“Through this project, the College has delivered an inspired heritage skills programme.
“We also look forward to our students making use of Workhouse facilities as they further their learning and begin to create new business and social enterprise ventures."
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