Women laundry workers tell how they went out on strike for a second week's holiday in 1945 and ended up getting it for all workers.
The strike lasted for over 13 weeks and involved around 1,500 workers, affecting 14 laundries in Dublin. At the time, commercial laundries were big business, with much of the laundry work done by women. The strikers' victory resulted in the right to a fortnight’s holiday being eventually extended to all workers.
Some of the women involved talk about the strike. There is praise for Helen Chenevix and Louie Bennett, the "strong, powerful women" of the Irish Women Workers’ Union who managed the strike and kept it all going. It was a "brilliant summer", with sunny weather just like the summer of 1995 and the laundresses enjoyed being on strike and getting their own laundry done sneakily on the side. They got great support from the public, and some even met their husbands while they were out.
