Talk this Saturday on industrial school past of Ballinasloe library building

Ballinasloe Library will host a special talk this coming weekend exploring the history of the library building.

Librarian and local history enthusiast Abbie McGowan will present her research and launch a new oral history project on Saturday, January 24, at 2.30pm.

The library building previously served as St Gabriel’s Convent and St Joseph’s Reformatory and Industrial School before its redevelopment as a modern public library.

Abbie developed an interest in the building’s past while working there as a library assistant and has since undertaken extensive research drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts, school inspector reports, civil records, Petty Sessions documentation, and surviving Workhouse material.

Her lecture will offer an overview of life in Ballinasloe from the years following the Great Hunger through to the early twentieth century, explaining the building’s role in the life and development of the town.

The accompanying oral history project aims to preserve the informal and personal histories associated with the building.

As the industrial school closed in 1968, the remaining first-hand accounts are increasingly at risk of being lost. Capturing these histories is essential to developing a fuller understanding of the lived experience of those connected to these institutions.

Saturday's event is free of charge, and all are welcome to attend.

Further information about the project is available at: https://stjosephsindustrialschoolballinasloe.wordpress.com