#Open journalism No news is bad news

Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you

Support The Journal
Contribute : Support us now
Dublin: 11°C Tuesday 17 May 2022
Advertisement

In photos: The Irish women who made bombs during World War 1

In September of 1917 a factory in Arklow blew up and killed 27 people.

By Cliodhna Russell Sunday 1 Feb 2015, 9:00 AM
Feb 1st 2015, 9:00 AM 16,479 Views 12 Comments
https://jrnl.ie/1911351
Image: © IWM via (Q 33212)
Image: © IWM via (Q 33212)

THE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION that Irish women made during World War 1 is highlighted in a new exhibition.

It shows how thousands of Irish women worked in bomb making factories here in Ireland.

Five ‘national munitions factories’ were set up in Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Galway – employing around 2,000 women.

The exhibition examines how Irish men and women were involved in the war by looking at the stories of 21 individuals who took part.

One of those women was Florence Lea – a dressmaker’s apprentice who had been earning a paltry two shillings a week before the war started.

Senior historian with the National Museum Lar Joye curated the World War 1 exhibition. He told TheJournal.ie that the war offered Florence an amazing chance to improve her economic situation.

“In March 1917 she begane making artillery shell casings in the Liffey Dockyard Munitions Factory where she earned about fifty shillings a week.”

About 1,400 women worked making bombs in Dublin.

The Imperial War Museum has collected photos of women working at the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street during the First World War:

In photos: The Irish women who made bombs during World War 1
1 / 9

  • © IWM (Q 33231)

    The exterior of the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.

  • © IWM (Q 33236)

    The exterior of the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.

  • © IWM (Q 33210)

    Female workers queue outside the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.

  • © IWM (Q 33214)

    The operators in the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War. Note the factory motto painted onto the wall.

  • © IWM (Q 33216)

    Female workers adjust the nozzles of shells in the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.

  • © IWM (Q 33218)

    Kathleen Nolan sharpens a tool on a grindstone a the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.

  • © IWM (Q 33217)

    Kathleen Nolan presses a driving band onto a shell in the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.

  • © IWM (Q 33227)

    Interior of the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War. Note the board showing the number of shells passed into bond totals per shift on the back wall.

  • © IWM (Q 33224)

    Women sit at benches in the canteen at the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War. A gramophone can be seen on the left.
  • The exterior of the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.
  • The exterior of the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.
  • Female workers queue outside the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.
  • The operators in the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War. Note the factory motto painted onto the wall.
  • Female workers adjust the nozzles of shells in the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.
  • Kathleen Nolan sharpens a tool on a grindstone a the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.
  • Kathleen Nolan presses a driving band onto a shell in the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War.
  • Interior of the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War. Note the board showing the number of shells passed into bond totals per shift on the back wall.
  • Women sit at benches in the canteen at the National Shell Factory at Parkgate Street, Dublin, during the First World War. A gramophone can be seen on the left.

#Open journalism No news is bad news Support The Journal

Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you

Support us now

It was dangerous work and in September of 1917 a factory in Arklow blew up and killed 27 people.

The plant manufactured 100 tons of cordite every week and had a workforce of over 2,000.

It happened at 4 o’clock in the morning- had it happened at 4 o’clock in the afternoon it could have killed hundreds.

By the summer of 1919 the national shell factories were sold and the majority of Irish women – including Florence – returned to more traditional workplaces and trades.

Recovered Voices – Stories of the Irish at War 1914 – 1915, opened at the National Museum of Ireland this week.

Read: Photos: The Irish at War – stories of 21 Irish men and women brought to life>

About the author:

About the author
Cliodhna Russell
cliodhna@thejournal.ie

Contribute to this story:

Send a Correction

Read next:

COMMENTS (12)

    ∞

    About Us

    Follow Us

    Corrections

    Policies

    Content copyright © Journal Media Ltd. 2022 Registered in Dublin, registration number: 483623. Registered office: 3rd floor, Latin Hall, Golden Lane, Dublin 8.

    TheJournal.ie supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1890 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie
     

    Please note that TheJournal.ie uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide services and advertising. For more information on cookies please refer to our cookies policy.

    News images provided by Press Association and Photocall Ireland unless otherwise stated. Irish sport images provided by Inpho Photography unless otherwise stated. Wire service provided by Associated Press.

    Journal Media does not control and is not responsible for user created content, posts, comments, submissions or preferences. Users are reminded that they are fully responsible for their own created content and their own posts, comments and submissions and fully and effectively warrant and indemnify Journal Media in relation to such content and their ability to make such content, posts, comments and submissions available. Journal Media does not control and is not responsible for the content of external websites.

    Switch to Mobile Site

    Sites: TheJournal.ie | Noteworthy | The42 | Boards.ie | Adverts.ie | Daft.ie