Valuable legacy as Steve departs Portumna Workhouse

The key to understanding the way things are today is to look at how we got here. That’s the message of the outgoing General Manager of the Irish Workhouse Centre in Portumna, Steve Dolan, who has produced 12 new local heritage booklets – six of which focus on the towns of East and South Galway.
These booklets shed new light on life in Athenry, Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Tuam, Gort and Portumna in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a transformative period before famine altered the course of Irish history.
With a background in banking, Steve is moving back into the private sector this month, but his passion for history and the voluntary sector remains steadfast.
Ahead of his departure from the Workhouse Centre, the Kilconieron man has set himself a target to raise €10,000 for community groups in the towns featured in these 12 limited-edition publications – they are accompanied by a series of lectures to be delivered over the course of Heritage Week, which kicks off this weekend.
For Steve, the project has been a labour of love and something he feels will leave a lasting legacy as he departs the Workhouse Centre after a productive three-and-a-half years at the helm.
“This year, given it was my last at the Workhouse, I wanted to do something big – and that’s where my idea for the 12 booklets came about,” he says.
“The six towns were a joy to do because I love all six of them. They all have such distinct personalities and characteristics and even today, I consider the towns to be unique with very different personalities.”

For full story see this week’s Connacht Tribune