Hopes that a new Mayo social scene for young people will attract workers to the Irish Spinners factory.
Originally from Yorkshire in England, Fred Driver set up Irish Spinners Limited in Kiltimagh, County Mayo in 1952. The bulk of production in the factory is for Readicut rug making kits.
Until Irish Spinners, there was no factory and little prospect of employment in Kiltimagh. This meant young people tended to drift away to bigger centres like Dublin or move to England.
Fred Driver noticed the lack of a social life in Kiltimagh. As he was renting the local town hall to use as a warehouse for his factory, he decided to turn it into a social centre for his workers.
The Readicut Social Club, Kiltimagh is,
An experiment designed purely and simply to bring in more employees but more important, to keep them.
Fred Driver is confident the experiment is working. The hope is that the social activities will attract young people to stay in Kiltimagh and for those not currently employed by Irish Spinners, it might encourage them to work there.
Staff use the hall at least four nights a week, they have their own committee and organise sports and dances. The club is right beside the factory and workers can go straight from the factory machines to playing billiards or dancing.
Those attending the Readicut Social Club think,
It's a marvellous idea. We’ve never had anything like it here before.
Without this social outlet, a young woman reckons,
I’d probably be sitting at home doing nothing.
Fred Driver believes taking a proactive approach is the best way to save the west of Ireland from depopulation. He does all he can for his workforce but in the end,
It’s all teamwork, I just happen to be the skipper, that’s all.
A 'Newsbeat’ report broadcast first on 7 November 1968. The reporter is Cathal O’Shannon.
