Derry to honour service of the Factory Girls

“No matter what factory girl you talk to, they'll say that the typical working day was great craic,” says former shirt factory worker Clare Moore.

Clare was one of many women who was part of Derry's legendary shirt-making workforce that for decade upon decade made the city synonymous with quality attire.

As shipbuilding was to Glasgow and coal-mining was to the Welsh valleys, Derry's shirt factories was a major part of the city's heartbeat and if anyone around the globe had a shirt of the highest quality, chances are, it was made in Derry.

This weekend, a plaque will be unveiled at the site of the Star factory on Foyle Road to pay tribute to all the factory girls who made shirts there – the ninth plaque to be put on the site of a former shirt-making factory.

Although, Clare worked at the City factory, she will be there with her other former shirt-making colleagues, to honour the hard work that the women endured – as well as the friends that they made – to play a part in when Derry ruled the roost in quality shirts.

She said: “I worked as a factory girl in the 1960s in the City factory at Queen Street – at one time there were over forty shirt factories in Derry. The main ones included the one I worked at, Hogg and Mitchell, the Rosemount – the one with the neon 'stitch in time' sign at lights up at night, Welch and Margetson, Robert Sinclaire and of course the Star factory.

“I left school at fifteen and I went into the City factory in 1960. I was there for seven years until I got married.

“Most girls then left when they got married and had families to raise. I worked on and off in different other factories but the one you start in and the one you stay in is the one that's closest to your heart – and that was the City factory.

“No matter what factory girl you talk to, they'll say that the typical working day was great craic. We had to work hard to earn our money but when we came out of the factory door, we headed on out to whatever dance was on that night – there were dances in Derry every night of the week.

“We had great fun – the sixties are a period we wouldn't change for anything. That was a fantastic decade for dance halls, showbands, music... it was just amazing.

“And our shirts were renown for quality. You were trained in a particular job when you went in there. You were a runner and a stitch girl to begin with and then you were put on a machine and trained to do a particular part of the shirt.

“Obviously there's numerous parts that make up a shirt. I was trained to put the cuffs on – which wasn't as tricky as some of the other jobs. It was repetitive work.

“Everybody did a particular job that was passed along the line. Somebody put the cuffs on, someone would then do the hem, somebody would put the sleeves in – I reckon the trickiest job would be to put the collar on.

“The shirts had to be perfect. If you didn't do it right, you got it sent back. The quality control was very strict and the standards were very high.

“It was a noisy place to work with all the machines going but it was something you got used to.

“We loved our tea-breaks mind – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Forget about health and safety, we sat at our machines and had a cup of tea and a bun – although we never got cream or jam on the shirts.

“Plus we never got scolded with the big pot of tea that came round. That's the way it was in those days. We didn't have a canteen. The message girl would go downstairs and came back up with this enormous tea-pot filled to the brim. She would carry it around the machines to pour it out for each worker.”

^{From left to right: Mary Doherty, Clare Moore and Vera Sheerin during their time as Derry factory girls back in the 1960s}

Clare has been part of the Friends of the Factories group that has, via its Facebook page, campaign to get recognition for the factory girls and their efforts in ensuring Derry's garment industry boomed.

She added: “Our group embarked on a project last year and we got eight plaques – six at the Derry shirt factories and two into St Columb's Hall. This one at the star factory will be our ninth plaque.

“We acted on our own initiative and we got support from the Derry Trade Union Council. Over a three-day period last May (2021), we unveiled the plaques one by one. We've been waiting a long while to get a proper tribute for what the factory girls did and to honour them.

“The Derry shirt factories were renown all around the world – the world's shirt factory capital. That's not an understatement. There's never been anything public bar a number of things written about us and a couple of plays done but this is more worthwhile.

“With the idea to get plaques put up, it went a lot better than we envisaged when we we were planning our meetings – this has exceeded all expectations. The plaques cost money of course, but they were very generously funded by the Trade Union Council and some of the factory building owners offered to help as well.

“Most of my friends are in this group and have driven this and campaigned – including meeting the then-mayor back in 2019, Michaela Boyle, who was apparently a factory girl herself.

“She held a party in the Guildhall for the factory girls – a reunion – and we met Yvonne Norris and her mother and family. This was when the idea to campaign for the plaques came about.

“Covid then came but we still held online meetings and continued to do a lot of background work – including reaching out to the owners of the factory buildings.

“We also have a facebook group – Friends of the Factories Community – which has over six hundred members from all over the place. They range from being in Derry to America, Australia and many other places.

“We're the last of our era and we are now trying to shine a light on it and get recognition. There's so many projects going on at the minute and this is our time to shine.”

If you are a former factory girl or are related to someone who was, the Friends of the Factories Community facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/FriendsoftheFactories