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Article: Women at work: The barefoot factory girls; In 1911 the girls who worked at Belfast's York Street Mill went on strike, an event that was to prove a turning point in the history of conditions for women in the workplace. And that strike had a remarkable effect on the woman who is directing a new play starting in Belfast next week about factory girls. SANDRA CHAPMAN talks to Carol Moore.(Female Times)
- Article from:
- The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
- Article date:
- February 6, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Johnston Publishing Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Sandra Chapman
Early in the last century Belfast's industrial landscape was marked by the tall, intimidating and dour buildings, the 'dark satanic mills' into which thousands of women, some in their bare feet, poured every day.
Once there, they would have been locked in to ensure they didn't leave a second earlier than they were supposed to. It meant too, that those who were a fraction late in reaching the entrance were locked out and immediately lost pay.
Conditions inside were gruesome. Dust from the processes clogged their lungs, damp ...