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History of the Shillelagh Union Workhouse and Fever Hospital Following the 1838 Poor Law Act, Ireland was divided into 130 administrative Poor Law Unions. Each Union was run by a Board of Guardians, whose main work was to erect and maintain a workhouse in their respective union. This was financed by a local levy or rate on landowners. Shillelagh Union included southwest Wicklow and east Carlow and was made up of nineteen electoral divisions - Tinahely, Carnew, Ballingate, Killinure, Cronelea, Shillelagh, Coolattin, Coolboy, Ballybeg, Ballinglen, Kilballyowen, Kilpipe, Coolballintaggart, Munny, Aghowle, Rath, Clonegal, Clonmore and Hacketstown. The Shillelagh Union Workhouse was built in 1840-41 for a cost of £7,394. It was situated on a six-acre site half a mile to the south west of the village with an annual rent of £8. The Workhouse opened its doors on 18th February 1842, with accommodation for 400 people. Built like other workhouses, to the design of architect George Wilkinson, it consisted of three blocks. The admissions building contained the porter's office, probationary wards and the Guardians' boardroom; behind was the main building, also known as the able-bodied quarters. It housed the dormitories, school and dayrooms and master and matron's accommodation. The third block contained the infirmary and lunatic wards. The dining hall, which doubled up as the chapel, connected the main building with the infirmary. Kitchens and washrooms were in an annex behind the main workhouse. The whole complex was divided into male and female compartments and surrounded by high walls. The Famine created an unprecedented demand for workhouse places and by January 1847, Shillelagh Workhouse was declared full. Admissions reached an all-time high in February 1850, with more than 800 inmates recorded as receiving relief in Shillelagh. By early 1847, fever had reached epidemic proportions all over the country. Due to the lack of accommodation in the workhouse, new admissions, whether sick or healthy, were crowded into already full wards, leading to the rapid spread of disease. Patients presenting with fever at Shillelagh Workhouse were sent to Carnew Fever Hospital but by 1848, a fever hospital had been erected to the south of the Shillelagh workhouse. County Wicklow mortality rates doubled during the Famine. From June 1841 to 30 March 1851, deaths from infectious diseases in the Shillelagh Workhouse and Hospital numbered 335 - 194 of which were male and 141 female. As well as famine fever, cause of death was attributed to smallpox, influenza, dysentery, diarrhoea, scarlatina and whooping cough. Few deaths were ascribed to actual starvation. The Irish Poor Relief Extension Act of 1847 empowered the Guardians to acquire land adjacent to the workhouse for use as burial ground for deceased inmates of the workhouse and hospital and in Shillelagh, the graveyard was situated behind the Fever Hospital. The 1851 Medical Charities Act established a network of local dispensaries funded by the poor rate and administered by local committees composed of Guardians and resident property holders. This represented a major advance in the provision of medical services in Ireland, bringing a medical officer into every district in the country and offering free medical treatment outside the workhouse. The Act improved access to vaccination by greatly increasing the number of outlets, thus reducing the distances parents and children had to travel. Due to the slow take up however, vaccination in the child's home became an option after 1858 and compulsory vaccination was introduced in 1863. By the late 1850s, social and economic conditions throughout the country had improved, and with the population reduced by famine, disease and emigration, workhouse accommodation was at 1% of the population. The decrease in numbers after the famine and the changeover to the more humane system of outdoor relief, led to better conditions within the workhouse. Guardians began to enlarge their infirmaries, especially as many post-Famine inmates were chronically ill. The role of the workhouse changed and it became more of an institution for the old, the sick, the mentally ill and vagrants. Poor, but not destitute persons could now become 'paying patients' and were exempt from wearing the workhouse uniform. In 1861, the proportion of sick to healthy inmates in the Shillelagh Workhouse was 1:6.4 and in 1871, 1:3.7. Pauper children were a focus of particular concern in the post-Famine period due to the large number of orphan and deserted children in Irish workhouses. The Poor Relief (Ireland) Act of 1862 gave powers to the Boards of Guardians for their boarding out. Foster families were usually of the labourer and small farmer class and were paid about £5 a year. Between August 1862 and January 1873, 34 orphaned and deserted children were fostered out in the Shillelagh Union. By the end of the 19th century what had been a established as a method of deterrence, intended to relieve destitution alone, had evolved into a broad based welfare system encompassing not only poor relief, but medical care, sanitation and social housing.
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Haqre gur "Crnprshy Ebpx" ng gur erne bs tebggb