Derry's Factory Girls creating history

Derry’s fantastic Factory Girls were in brilliant form and looking fabulous at the recent International Women’s Day market in the city’s St Columb’s Hall.

Speaking to The Derry News, Mary Doherty, Clare Moore and Isabel Doherty, in town to meet their friend Margaret McCourt (86), were looking forward to the unwrapping of the Factory Girls’ sculpture in Harbour Square; the unwrapping took place last Thursday. last. 

Margaret is the Factory Girl in the photograph which inspired the latest work of Una Carlin, designer and goldsmith at Faller the Jeweller in the city.

Ms Carlin found the photograph in an old scrapbook in Derry's Tower Museum while carrying out research for a collection honouring the city's factory workers.

Margaret McCourt: the photograph which inspired the latest work of Una Carlin, designer and goldsmith at Faller the Jeweller in the city.

Speaking to The Derry News, Clare Moore said: "We are celebrating International Women’s Day. The ‘Friends of the Factories’ which is our Facebook group were invited along to St Columb’s Hall as part of the market and I was very pleased to do it. 

“There are not many of us around now. We haven’t got the same stamina and energy that we had many moons ago but we didn’t want to miss today. 

“I knew that I would see so many people and it’s not just factory girls that were here. I  met many different people today, different ages, different cities, different backgrounds and they all came over to chat. 

“All I had to say was, ‘Shirt factory girl. Do you know anybody who worked in the shirt factory? And everybody knows somebody, so I had some great conversations with them all. When Isabel and Mary arrived, we said we weren’t leaving until Margaret arrived,” laughed Clare, who added, “I am so happy to be alive and well today and to be together.”

According to Clare, Margaret is the “iconic Margaret Olphert from the City Factory in the 1960s”. She has become one of the most recognisable faces of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Celebration of the Shirt Factory Workers project, spearheaded by its Museum Service. 

Smiling, Margaret explained she was a bander in the City Factory all those years ago. 

“I was 14 when I went into the factory,” she added. “I was there until Yvonne, our first child was born. I was married when I was 22. 

“I have great memories of working in the City Factory,” said Margaret.

“We have great memories of working with Margaret,” said Isabel. “She was always so nice and mild and elegant. We were just young, and she was young too, but we were just dying about her. She was beautiful. She looked like a lady, a princess. 

“We idolised her; we were a bit rough around the edges and Margaret had that touch of class,” said Isabel.

Derry Shirt Factory legacy to live on in new archive collection

The Tower Museum secured £40k funding for the project through the National Archives ‘Archives Revealed’ Grant

IN PICTURES: Factory Girls unwrap special sculpture at Derry's Harbour Square

The new sculpture will be the centrepiece of the public realm works currently underway

Before they swept out of St Columb’s Hall, the Factory Girls said they were looking forward to the unveiling ceremony as they “had waited long enough for it”.

They left the last word to Isabel who said: “I am glad to be alive and taking part in the ceremony. We are leaving a bit of history and to me that’s it all.”

The unwrapping of the Factory Girls’ sculpture was preceded by a mayoral reception in the Guildhall.

The city’s long overdue tribute to the Factory Girls was created by artist Chris Wilson. The  design is based on the shapes of spools of thread as used in the shirt factory; it consists of three bell-shaped forms with night-time illumination.