This book deals with the history of the working class in twentieth-century Ireland through a close examination of three Cork factories (Irish Steel, Sunbeam Wolsey and the Ford Marina Plant) and the men and men who worked therein. Departing from previous labour history in Ireland, this book uses a comparative factory study approach - combined with extensive oral testimony - to break new ground in Irish labour history.

The book includes fresh research on the business histories of each firm through extensive archival research, expanding our knowledge of three significant Irish firms. It also draws on a vast pool of oral interviews to explore working-class community life and associational culture, trade-unionism, class awareness and the gendered aspects of working-class life in modern Ireland.