Three incomplete volumes recording details of residents admitted to the Parsonstown (Birr) Workhouse, the first of which dating from the opening of the workhouse in April 1842.

Provides details of names of inmates, previous residence, date when admitted or born in workhouse, whether male/female, age, marital status, employment, religion, disability type, and date when discharged or died in workhouse. Volumes from 1842-1843 and 1849-1850 contain index of names.

Two volumes March 1857- September 1870 and 25 March 1871-29 September 1878, of workhouse accounts for the Borrisokane, Kildysart, Nenagh, Parsonstown, and Roscrea Poor Law Unions.

The account books were put together and kept by Henry Trench due to his involvement with the Poor Law Unions.

Minute books, accounts ledgers, reports, and ancillary material relating to the creation, administration, and eventual dissolution of Tullamore Union from its establishment in 1839 to the closure of Tullamore Workhouse in August 1921. The main set of records are the minute books of the boards of guardians, comprising 112 volumes from an original set of 128 volumes. Other material is financial in nature, such as the treasurer’s account books and rates returns. No workhouse admission and discharge registers survive, but an important volume entitled Application and Report Book from 1862/1863, provides details of the relief applications for approximately 500 applicants. Other workhouse material is in the form of provisions registers and daybooks, as well as an architectural drawing of alterations to the Infirmary at the workhouse. As the Board of Guardians also oversaw the dispensary districts in the union, there is a set of minute books relating to the five dispensary districts with accompanying district notices in poster form.

Minute books, accounts ledgers, reports, workhouse registers, and ancillary material relating to the creation, administration, and eventual dissolution of Parsonstown Union from its establishment in May 1839 to its dissolution in 1925. The union’s Board of Guardians were responsible for overseeing several functions of local government; primarily the care of the poor, including the setting up, financing and running of the workhouse, the creation of dispensary districts, assisted migration and outdoor relief.

The main set of records are the minute books of the Boards of Guardians, comprising 97 volumes. Other material is financial in nature, such as the financial minute books and repayment of relief account book. Three registers of the Parsonstown (Birr) workhouse survive; 1842-1843, 1849-1850 and loose pages from a 1912 registers. As the Board of Guardians also oversaw the dispensary districts in the union, there is a ledger relating to their activities, as well as a copy of the lease for the Kinnitty dispensary residences.

Parsonstown Union’s area of operation covered 234 square miles from two counties: from Offaly (King’s County) – Banagher, Drumcullen, Eglish, Ferbane, Frankfort, Kilcoleman, Kinnety, Lemanagan, Letter, Lusmagh, Seirkyrans, Parsonstown, Shannon Bridge, Shannon Harbour and Tissarin. From County Tipperary – Aglishcloghane, Ballingarry, Dorha, Lockeen, Lorha and Uskeane.

Only 10 minute books survive as records of Edenderry Union covering the years 1879-1919, with many large gaps. There are no extant workhouse registers, registers of deaths, workhouse ledgers, outdoor relief registers, or registers of accounts.

A further known minute book from 1895, which was rescued from the workhouse following its demolition in 1976 and is now in private hands, has been transcribed by Dr Ciaran Reilly in an article ‘The minute book of Edenderry Poor Law Union, 1895’ in Offaly Heritage, Vol. 7 (Tullamore, 2013)

The minutes contain the proceedings of the meetings of the boards of guardians and contain reports from the clerk of the union, the master of the workhouse, the sanitary officers and others.