Governey’s Boot Factory in Carlow town, Ireland was one of several factories throughout Ireland involved in the manufacture of footwear in the early part of the 20th century. Up to the 1930’s almost every town in Ireland had its own boot and shoe makers. Most of these were small operations, hand-making their wares. Some, as in the case of Carlow, were large scale manufacturing plants. By 2012 most of the shoe manufacturing plants in Ireland had closed down or moved production to other countries.
The Boot Factory in Carlow was opened in 1903 by Mr Michael Governey who was the owner of a mineral water works in the Castle Hill area of the town. The business expanded rapidly and by the late 1930’s had over 300 employees. Between 3,000 and 4,000 pairs of various types of footwear were manufactured weekly. The products were distributed all over Ireland and were exported to Britain. The factory ceased production and was closed down in the 1970’s
Governey’s Boot Factory was opened in Carlow town in the year 1903 On This Day.
Image from page 661 of “Lasell leaves” (1916) by Internet Archive Book Images on 1916-01-01 00:00:00
Map of Carlow showing Castle Hill by brookscl on 2015-10-04 10:41:02