In 1916, during the uprising against British rule, British troops took over the workhouse, evicted the occupants and made the building their barracks. In 1923, during the Irish Civil War, six anti-treaty IRA volunteers were imprisoned and executed at the workhouse by Irish Free State forces, followed by two others some weeks later. These were among the last executions of the Civil War. The nuns who took over the building later erected a crucifix in memory of the executed IRA members.