The world's first shirt factory opened in the Foyle Road area of Derry in 1842. Just 40 years ago 12 shirt factories prospered on Derry's west bank. Wednesday's announcement that the 150-year-old City Factory at Queen Street, which is owned by the Raelbrook Group, is to close at the end of November with the loss of 200 jobs, means that only one of the original 12 remains in business.
The 200 employees, who have resigned themselves to losing their jobs in eight weeks' time, said they had feared bad news. "We knew just before the summer holiday that something was going to be announced," said one employee who has been working in the factory for almost 30 years.
"When we saw the union officials arriving for meetings on Wednesday morning our suspicions were confirmed. But what we expected was to be told that there would have to be some reductions in the workforce, or that we were going into a period of short-time working.
"No one, and I mean no one, expected the news that we were closing, that our jobs and our careers are at an end," he said.
Mr Colin Deas, who took over the City Factory when it was threatened with closure 10 years ago, said it had been "a fight against the odds for many months.
"We just can't compete with products imported from the Third World. It's as simple as that," he said. Mr Jack Nash, a SIPTU official who was involved in discussions with Mr Deas 10 years ago, described him as "a proper gentleman towards the workforce".
Economists estimate the cost to the Derry economy resulting from the closure will be at least £3 million. "The difficulty is that those who are charged with the responsibility of trying to develop an economy for Derry just haven't done it, they haven't delivered. The only people who are going to do it are the people of Derry themselves and that's the only message that comes out anywhere else," said Mr Nash.
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, whose mother and sisters worked in Derry's shirt factories, said the industry was essential to Derry. "Shirt manufacturing has been central to the economy of Derry for so long and the skills of the workers in the shirt industry should be both maintained and developed.
"This factory is not going to close for another couple of months, so we should use that time to see if we can do anything to save the factory. The best way to do that is to achieve markets for the produce. Everything must be done to aim at markets which will preserve the jobs of our people," he said.
The Mayor, Mr Joe Miller, who was yesterday involved in a series of meetings with the factory's management and union representatives, said he was saddened that a 90-day notice had been served on the staff.
"The shirt industry has been the traditional industry in the city for generations and is an integral part of our history and heritage. I am also aware of the pressures that are facing this traditional sector, in particular the threats posed by global market forces, the international situation and the cost competitiveness of low-cost economies.
"It is important that we continue to work together to strengthen our traditional industries while finding new opportunities to develop our city's industrial base," he said.