Les Modes Modernes: The Galway hat factory, 1937-1972.
This lecture will trace the history of the Galway Hat factory, Les Modes Modernes, established in Bohermore in the late 1930s by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism. It focuses on the experiences of former workers interviewed for the research, who recall social relations in the factory, as well as the working conditions and the manufacturing processes. The oral history research is complemented by memoirs and a range of other sources. The challenges faced by the Jewish exiles will be considered along with the personal trials they endured. Fianna Fáil’s protectionist policies were responsible for the establishment of millinery industries in Galway and elsewhere in the west, but changes in policy in the 1960s, together with changes in fashion, created difficulties which would lead to the closure of Les Modes Modernes in 1972.
A former school principal, Mary Cunningham has researched and produced documentaries for her Recording Galway website including several broadcast on Galway Bay FM. She worked as a researcher on the Tuam Oral History Project and is co-producer of a podcast series on the experience of survivors of the Tuam Mother and Baby institution, which is included in the Junior Cert curriculum.
Date: Monday, 13 April 2026
Time: 20:00/8pm
Venue: Harbour Hotel, Galway