Advertisement for Smyth & Co.
A newspaper advertisement for Smyth & Co. products.
© Gaelic Weekly, 1960.Advertisement for Smyth & Co.
© Gaelic Weekly, 1960.
© Gaelic Weekly, 1960.
Advertisement for Smyth & Co.
A newspaper advertisement for Smyth & Co. products.
© Gaelic Weekly, 1960.For many years, Smyth & Co. was a major source of employment in Balbriggan and its surrounding areas.
An article in the Gaelic Weekly on Saturday 30 July 1960 describes the facilities provided in the factory for employees:
'The kitchen is run on the most modern hotel lines and the canteen is one of the most up-to-date to be found anywhere. It is completely gloss-painted, even to the ceiling ... The company realises, too, the importance of recreation for their workers ... They have provided a clubhouse which in addition to Billiards and a Reading Room, has a comfortable little Theatre.
All the employees receive free medical attention, and three years ago a dental surgery was opened, where the very best treatment is given regularly. In the past twelve months some of the older portions of the factory were pulled down and others reconstructed to provide further amenities, including shower baths, for the staff.'
Workers' Recollections
Workers in Smyth's of Balbriggan
Images of workers in Smyth & Co. of Balbriggan, taken from a 1940s promotional booklet.
© Smyth's of Balbriggan.Workers in Smyth's of Balbriggan
© Smyth's of Balbriggan.
© Smyth's of Balbriggan.
Workers in Smyth's of Balbriggan
Images of workers in Smyth & Co. of Balbriggan, taken from a 1940s promotional booklet.
© Smyth's of Balbriggan.
Page from Smyth & Co. Booklet
Text from a Smyth & Co. promotional company booklet from the 1940s. The text describes women at work in the Balbriggan factory.
Smyth's of Balbriggan.Page from Smyth & Co. Booklet
Smyth's of Balbriggan.
Smyth's of Balbriggan.
Page from Smyth & Co. Booklet
Text from a Smyth & Co. promotional company booklet from the 1940s. The text describes women at work in the Balbriggan factory.
Smyth's of Balbriggan.In an extract from Working Life in Fingal: 1936-1959, a former Smyth & Co. employee describes what it was like to work there in the 1950's and the amount of work that went into manufacturing the company's world-famous products:
"You take the ordinary stocking then. It was unbelievable the work that went into that. It had to be knitted, it had to be welted, it had to be toed, turned off as we used to call it. Seamed if there was a seam wanted. Then it had to be mended. It had to go to a girl who'd examine it all over for any flaws. Every stocking had to be examined by the menders."
Then it would have to go to the assembly room, sorted into different sizes, cottons, silks ... Increasingly, clothes were becoming mass produced, replacing the traditional trades of tailors and dressmakers. Nevertheless these trades were still being practiced throughout Fingal. People relied on tailors and dressmakers to make them new clothes, and to repair and adapt older garments.