Since January 2021, volunteers from National Museums NI have been gathering stories and experiences of Courtaulds Ltd to understand its local impact and legacy. They have now turned these memories into an online exhibition and film which give a flavour of what the company was like to work for, and how it shaped working and social lives.
Courtaulds was the first of the man-made fibre industries to arrive in Northern Ireland, opening a factory for the production of Rayon in Carrickfergus in 1951. By 1965 over 1,300 people were employed. Its closure in 1981 was a devastating blow to the town.
The film was launched alongside a special exhibition at Carrickfergus Museum on 11th December, and both the exhibition and film are now available to view online.
Visit the virtual exhibition on Smartify.
Watch the film on YouTube
Really enjoyed this film clip. Worked on the switchboard for more than four years in the 70s. Was such a busy environment with each of the switchboard operators (two full time and two part time to cover for breaks), handling more than 1,000 incoming calls each day, and the same amount of calls outgoing. Took about a week to learn how to operate the Swedish electronic switchboard but more than a year to learn and remember all the 300 plus extensions and managers names etc., throughout the factory. The switchboard had more than 30 external lines, some of those were direct lines through to other Courtaulds sites in the UK and the ROI. Great memories.