Episode 62: Shirt Tales Part 1
Abandoned (for one episode only) by Jeanie and Marie-Louise, Pauline is determined not to be an individual on her own! Meet fellow Derry girls, Yvonne Norris and Naomi Petropoulos. Both DGs have a strong interest in the rich history of the city’s shirt factories. For quite a few decades there were more than 40 factories employing thousands of women. In 1867, Karl Marx mentioned the new trend of home working - referencing one of the world’s first industrialised factories - Tillie and Henderson which at one time was the largest shirt factory in the world. There’s been a long campaign to recognise the Factory Girls who kept the economy of the city going. Yvonne and Naomi give a great introduction to a vital story in Derry’s history. And they did pass the audition if any situations arise in Talking Derry Girls.
NOTES
Shirts, Singer and Sewing exhibition snippets of interviews with factory girls carried out by Naomi Petropoulos originalderrygirls.com
Shirts, Singers and Sewing exhibition iin Shipquay Street in Derry City centre. https://towermuseumcollections.com/shirtssingersandsewing/
Naomi Petropoulos - Family Matters podcast episode where Naomi chats to her Granny and Mother-in-law about working in Derry’s shirt factories
Article by Naomi Petropoulos https://deindustrialization.org/honouring-the-original-derry-girls-the-resurgence-of-the-commemoration-and-celebration-of-shirt-making-in-derry-northern-ireland/
Friends of the Factories
https://www.friendsofthefactories.com/ https://twitter.com/FOTF21
Article about the Tillie and Henderson shirt factory in Derry/Londonderry. The world’s first modern factory mentioned by Karl Marx in Das Kapital. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/factory-made-marx-see-red/28176820.htmlhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&mibextid=1YhcI9R&v=199041234710306
BBC Radio Ulster - Stories in Sound, Factory Girls https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008nmp
BBC The shirt factory horn (TV clip) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00q946p
Shirt Factory Heritage Walking Tour https://www.derriedanders.co.uk/tour/shirt-factory-heritage-walking-tour
Friends of the Factories - plaques initiative https://www.friendsofthefactories.com/gallery-1
BBC report on Factory Girls song by Keiron Tourish https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&mibextid=1YhcI9R&v=328950601755997
My Granny was a Factory Girl https://www.irishpost.com/news/irish-sisters-charity-song-grandma-191341
The Friends of the Factory Workers scheme was the winner of the Women’s History Network Community History Prize in 2021. https://womenshistorynetwork.org/womens-history-network-2021-community-history-prize-winners-friends-of-the-factories/
Derry’s factory girls: A window into the adult world https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49740625.amp
Amelia Earhart in Derry - Ep 30 Talking Derry Girls Podcast
Plaques at St Columb’s Hall to commemorate visits by Emmeline Pankhust, Eleanor Marx and Margaret Cousins - https://www.derrynow.com/news/news/630815/plaques-unveiled-at-st-columb-s-hall-in-derry-to-commemorate-historic-visits.html
Derry Girls and Rock and Roll https://www.derryjournal.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/13-photographs-of-factory-girls-and-rock-n-roll-at-the-millennium-forum-4030642
Willie Deery
Derry’s Dance Halls of Romance - Willie Deery https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derrys-Dancehalls-Romance-Willie-Deery/dp/1906271410
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Springtown-Camp-Inside-Willie-Deery/dp/1906271305
Claire Allan Derry based writer (guest on Ep 28) - The First Time I said Goodbye https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/19101043
