shirt making

shirt making became an important occupation in west Ulster during the 1840s. It emerged initially as a cottage industry. When elements of the industry became mechanized, part of the work was carried out in supervised workshops. In 1853 Tillie and Henderson established the Foyle Factory, Derry, which became the largest Irish shirt making establishment, employing 1,500 hands by the 1890s. The number of factories rose from five in the 1850s to 38 by the turn of the century. At this stage total employment in the industry in Cos. Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone had risen to 80,000 people (including outworkers). The various parts of the shirts were generally made in factories located in the town of Derry, and to a lesser extent in Strabane, Co. Tyrone; these parts were then made up by rural outworkers. The low cost of labour was an important factor in explaining the rapid growth of shirt making in west Ulster during the second half of the 19th century. However, employment in the industry contracted significantly towards the end of the 19th century, due to foreign competition and changing fashions.

Andrew Bielenberg