STEP INTO THE RICH TAPESTRY OF DERRY'S INDUSTRIAL PAST

Celebrate the skilled hands and unheard voices who powered Derry’s global shirt trade. Hear first-hand accounts, explore historical artefacts, and contribute to keeping this history alive. Shirt Tales is a shared story of pride, resilience and community, which you will stitch into every piece of linen that you sew during your visit.

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This heartfelt celebration of the city’s shirt-making history is held in a former girl’s school in the city, and your first sewing lesson during your visit is taken from the original textbook printed from 1831, “The National Female Schools of Ireland Needlework and Cutting Out Simple Directions,” published and distributed to all National Model Female Schools from 1835. Whether you come to sew, to listen, or to remember, be part of preserving the threads that made Derry what it is today.