Thisbookdealswiththehistoryoftheworkingclassintwentieth-centuryIrelandthroughacloseexaminationofthreeCorkfactories(IrishSteel,SunbeamWolseyandtheFordMarinaPlant)andthemenandmenwhoworkedtherein.DepartingfrompreviouslabourhistoryinIreland,thisbookusesacomparativefactorystudyapproach-combinedwithextensiveoraltestimony-tobreaknewgroundinIrishlabourhistory.Thebookincludesfreshresearchonthebusinesshistoriesofeachfirmthroughextensivearchivalresearch,expandingourknowledgeofthreesignificantIrishfirms.Italsodrawsonavastpooloforalinterviewstoexploreworking-classcommunitylifeandassociationalculture,trade-unionism,classawarenessandthegenderedaspectsofworking-classlifeinmodernIreland.
