Factory Girls unwrap new public sculpture artwork in Derry city centre

The artwork which will be the centrepiece of the public realm works currently underway at Harbour Square behind the Guildhall.

The former factory workers were joined the Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, and artist Chris Wilson, who created the sculpture ‘Memory Lines’.

The work is dedicated to the many generations of shirt factory workers who powered the city’s economy for over a century.

The design is based on the shapes of spools of thread used in the shirt factories and the piece will be the focal point of the reimagined public realm area beside the Guildhall.

Tens of thousands of women across Derry, Donegal and Tyrone worked in the region’s shirt factories over successive generations and many more were employed in the cottage industries and satellite operations that were a central part of making the north west a world-renowned shirt manufacturer.

Shirts made locally were dispatched across the globe and the women who powered that industry were often the bread winners for their families and were collectively instrumental in transforming the city into an industrial powerhouse.

Many of the factory buildings have since been repurposed in and around the city centre while some others have been demolished.

The new sculpture is supported by the Department for Communities and Derry City and Strabane District Council, as a key element of a wider project that will transform Harbour Square, Custom House Street, Guildhall Street, Whittaker Street, and the Foyle Embankment and other parts of Derry’s city centre and riverfront area.

The first sod was cut on site back in May 2024 by then Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, who was joined by then Mayor of Derry and Strabane Patricia Logue.

Speaking last year, Factory Girls representative Mary White said: “We are delighted to see this project progressing to this state and are excited to see the artwork showcasing the important role played by factory girls to the history and culture of the city.”

An official opening is planned for the coming weeks, with project partners, political representatives and the local community all invited to mark the completion of the Harbour Square works.