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The Living Linen Project was set up in 1995 as an oral archive of the knowledge of the
Irish linen
Irish linen ( ga, Línéadach Éireannach) is the name given to linen produced in Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Linen is cloth woven from, or yarn spun from, flax fibre, which was grown in Ireland for many ...
industry still available within a nucleus of people who were formerly working in the industry in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
.
For over three hundred years linen manufacture has been an important industry, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
practically every town and village had a mill or a factory.
By 1921 there were almost one million spindles and 37,000 looms, with over 70,000 directly employed, representing 40% of the registered working population, with closer to 100,000 people dependent on the linen industry. At end of the 20th century only 10 significant companies, at most, remained employing 4,000 people.
This then was the motivation for the Living Linen Project, which aimed to collect recollections of this great industry while it was still possible.
Phase One
Phase I of the Project a team of volunteers conducted almost ninety interviews. These oral recordings, and transcriptions being placed in the
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...
,
Cultra
Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area.
Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht ...
,
County Down.
The interviews were with the former managers of the industry and members of the families whose firms made up the industry in the twentieth century. After four years, it became clear to the Living Linen Management Committee that the interviews should be carried on with a much wider range of people.
Phase Two
Phase II, in 1999 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded Living Linen a grant for the employment of an oral history researcher to conduct interviews, with all levels of employees. This covered managers, foremen, charge-hands, engineers; spinning, weaving, marketing, bleaching and dyeing firms' employees; machine operatives, cloth inspectors, clerical, bookkeepers, chemical and dye suppliers, mill furnishers, accountants, stores and shops that sold linen, and finally couturiers and fashion designers who used linen.
Living Linen Index
An index, is available from the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, which lists the linen companies with the associated names of people who were interviewed. The recordings may be listened to at the Library, Administration Building, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, Cultra, County Down, Northern Ireland. A telephone call to the museum would be advisable at 00 44 (0) 28 9042 8428 before accessing the collection.
External links
Irish Linen- The Fabric of Ireland
Living Linen ArchiveUlster Folk & Transport Museum
History of Irish linen
{{Authority control
Archives in Northern Ireland
Linen industry in Ireland