WAT’s The Story podcast: Episode 23: The story of Desmonds

For decades, Desmonds employed hundreds of people at its factories in Omagh and Dungannon. At its peak, the company, which supplied garments to Marks and Spencer, had an annual turnover of £100 million. In the latest edition of the WAT’s The Story podcast, local historian Dr Johnny Hamill traces the company’s remarkable beginnings in 1885 under Bridget Desmond, who started out by employing local women to sew shirts in their homes, before opening her first factory in 1907. Known for her care for staff, Bridget fostered a workplace culture that endured long after her death. The Desmond name lived on through her grandson, Sir Denis Desmond, until the company went into voluntary liquidation in 2004. Despite long-gone, the legacy of Desmonds lives on for many former employees and their families.