The Workhouse Campus Project

Monaghan County Council in partnership with Farney Community Development Group.

The Farney Community Development Committee has been based in the Carrickmacross Workhouse since 2003. The group has invested over €2.3 million over the past 18 years preserving the buildings and providing community services to the people of South Monaghan. In 2019, Monaghan County Council acquired the 6 acre site, securing the future of the facility for community use. A new tourism and visitor attraction centre based on the Workhouse Experience and the Famine was developed in 2020.

Now the Council together with Farney Community Development Committee are seeking funding to develop the whole site as a centre for community activity and use. The Workhouse Campus Project will encompass the restoration and repurposing of the old buildings on the site together with new-built designed centre to cater for the needs identified. The Iontas Centre in Castleblayney would be a model to aspire to for the people of Carrickmacross and south Monaghan.

The first step on the way is to ascertain what are the views and the needs of the people of Carrickmacross and its people. What services would they wish to see hosted in a newly developed Workhouse Campus? At present the Workhouse serves as a tourism and visitor attraction on the Famine, hosts a Community Childcare Creche, provides facilities for training and learning.

This moment provides an opportunity for other community groups and individuals to highlight facilities and services that could benefit the town and its catchment. For example the Arts sector is one that lacks a base in the town. During the pandemic, parents have state that young people require a safe place to meet. We are asking that you complete this short survey to give your initial thoughts on what could be facilitated in a newly developed Workhouse Campus. This is the first step on a journey to provide a new modern home for community, social and recreational services in Carrickmacross.

The sky is the limit in terms of our ambition to develop services and facilities for the community, so join in, complete the survey and get your friends and family to give their views also.

The survey is now closed.