Derry’s free Shirt Factory Memory Days begin 4 September

beehiveweb.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-14 19:12 3 min read

A man operates industrial screen printing machinery at a factory workstation in a studio.

Eight additional quilts, along with archive material and shirt-factory objects, have already been donated as Derry’s textile history is gathered for the museum collection. The next invitation is for the people who lived it.

Shirt Factory Memory Days begins with a free drop-in event at the Tower Museum in Derry on 4 September 2026, from 1pm to 5pm. Former shirt factory workers and anyone with memories, photographs, documents or objects connected to the industry are invited to attend.

According to the notice published by Derry City and Strabane Council, the community event will help the museum capture first-hand accounts and add missing information to its collections. Entry is free and the session operates on a drop-in basis.

Tower Museum session will build the local archive

Visitors can contribute in several ways. Museum staff want to record oral histories, identify people or places shown in photographs, learn more about surviving objects and documents, and discuss potential donations.

The invitation is not restricted to people who worked at sewing machines. Former employees, factory owners and anyone whose family photographs, papers or possessions carry a connection to the shirt-making industry may hold information that helps the museum document the collection more accurately.

Interviews have already been recorded with former shirt factory machinists and a former factory owner through the Archives Revealed – Exploring the Shirt Factory Archive project. The relationships established through that work are expected to produce further recordings in the coming months.

Anyone who wants more information or wishes to discuss a possible donation can contact the Museum Service or follow the Tower Museum’s social media channels for updates.

Quilt conservation uncovered knowledge held by volunteers

The Memory Days follow the completion of Stitched – the Shirt Factory Quilt Project at the Tower Museum. Supported by a Northern Ireland Museums Council Museum Collections Capital Grant, the work allowed the museum team to conserve, assess and document textiles linked to Derry’s former shirt factory industry.

A volunteer quilting group led by Margaret Lee of Shirt Tales NI contributed specialist knowledge about quilt designs, materials and regional textile traditions. Some of that information had not previously been documented, giving museum staff a fuller record of how the pieces were made and understood locally.

The project has also generated tangible additions to the collection. Eight more quilts have been donated, together with archival material and objects relating to the factories.

Museum Service Manager Margaret Edwards said the volunteers’ expertise and donations from the community had revealed new information and strengthened the collections. The work records traditions and skills associated with an industry that supported generations of families across the North West.

The material will also inform the development of the new DNA Museum — Derry~Londonderry on the North Atlantic — at Ebrington Square. The quilt project was selected by the Northern Ireland Museums Council as a case study of how its collections grant programme can safeguard objects while drawing knowledge and new material from the community.

A second Memory Day is planned for Strabane

Another Shirt Factory Memory Day is scheduled at Strabane Library later in September, although the published notice does not give its exact date or time. It also provides no street address, accessibility information or transport guidance for the Tower Museum session.

People requiring those details should contact the Museum Service or monitor the Tower Museum’s updates. The confirmed Derry event remains a free drop-in at the Tower Museum on 4 September, running from 1pm to 5pm.

Source: Derry City and Strabane Council News

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The date, venue, time, audience and collection activities were matched to the published Derry City and Strabane Council notice and supplied event brief.

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