Convent (Bridge House)

Dating from the 1760s and originally the home of Lord Gort, it is probably the oldest inhabited dwelling in the town of Gort. At various stages until 1857, it served as a doctors residence, a police barracks and, from 1850 to 1852, it was used as an Auxiliary Workhouse for the girls of the Gort Workhouse. On the 5th of November 1857 the Sisters of Mercy came from Carlow to establish a convent. They used the existing building - the three-storey portion facing the street, now a protected structure - and soon added the remainder. It is currently the residence of the Sisters of Mercy whose founder of the Community served with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea.