The first time that I saw the Workhouse, I was scheduled for a class with the guild. We met there and had the class upstairs. The class began in the evening, and everyone was doing the usual chit chat. Then we all got busy with our sewing. I heard some noises down below in the Workhouse store area, but I knew the shop was closed. I asked the gals, "What is that noise?" Eileen laughed and said, "That is Wee Hannah Herity's ghost." I was sort of taken aback and asked whom she was. I was told that she worked in the workhouse during the period of the famine in Ireland, and had a very difficult life, and the Workhouse now has a museum dedicated to telling the story of Wee Hannah and the famine, in addition to having a wonderful display on her life. The link to the Workhouse is http://www.dunfanaghyworkhouse.ie/ There is a coffee shop there too, and it is a wonderful place to visit. The guild has its end of the year Show and Tell at the Workhouse , sometimes the Quilt Show is held there. Since I heard the story of Wee Hannah, Joe took me to the Famine Graveyard, and it is a very sad place indeed. All of the gravestones have no markers, because they were paupers who had worked in the Workhouse and could not afford decent burials. Wee Hannah is buried in the Protestant graveyard next to the Famine Graveyard. We took pics of both graveyards and her gravestone in in Gaelic and English. The graveyards are only a short distance from our home, and it is incredible to visit. The scenery around the graveyards are breathtaking. There are fields of sheep and cows surrounded by the beautiful hills...Muckish Mountain in the distance and the sea in front. Joe and I often walk up there, and it is one of our favorite walks.
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