On March 25th 1911 a fire ripped through a sweatshop in Lower Manhattan where hundreds of immigrants worked long hours in dangerous conditions. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire would prove a pivotal moment not only in the history of New York but also the United States. This podcast, the first of three episodes on the fire, looks at the early lives of two women Annie Doherty and Celia Walker who worked in the factory. It explains why they emigrated to the US and had little option but to work in such dangerous conditions.

This is a joint project with Hope C Tarr, an author based in Manhattan. You can find Hope's website here or follow her on twitter.