The Workhouse Burial Ground Memorial
On Friday 8th May 2026 a new memorial was unveiled to mark the site of the burial ground of the Belfast Workhouse. This burial ground was the final resting place for tens of thousands of people from 1848 until 1908. I have campaigned for something to mark this site for years, having researched the workhouse and poverty in Belfast for over a decade.
Last year my campaign reached the media and I was delighted to have local councillor Gary McKeown officially propose the installation of a memorial.
The new workhouse memorial on the Donegall Road
The memorial received unanimous approval from Belfast City Council. I’ve been working with them over the last year on the wording of the memorial in consultation with local community groups.
We will never know the exact number of people buried here, their names have been lost to history. Even though their names were not all recorded, each was loved, mourned and deserving of having their final resting place acknowledged.
On Friday I was delighted to join the Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly (who also lives in the area) for the unveiling. I would like to thank her, Gary and the other councillors and staff of Belfast City Council who made this a reality. I’d also like to thank Queen’s University for their support and Mark Simpson BBC for his dedicated interest in this story.
Queen’s has released the story here on the university website.
The BBC covered the unveiling of the memorial on Saturday 9th May across TV, radio and online. You can read the online article here.
Belfast City Council released this article about this historic moment as well as filming a short video for their social media channels.
The story so far has also been picked up by the Irish Post and 4ni.
The Belfast workhouse has many more stories to tell. This is just the beginning.
Dr Robyn Atcheson at the new workhouse burial ground memorial
