ABSTRACT
IN the 18th century, London was the English town with the largest number of Irish immigrants resident within its boundaries and before the century was half over, Londoners had become well acquainted with the phenomenon known as the "Irish row". Row was a euphemism adopted by the English press to describe the violent street disturbances in which the Irish were frequently involved. The living conditions of the English working class were desperate, both in the towns and in rural areas but the immigrant Irish inherited the most deprived standards, in terms of accommodation and working conditions, to be found in Victorian England. By 1862, Birkenhead and Liverpool could be thought of as one unit with a common population. The Garibaldi riots proved to be the most serious clashes that Birkenhead experienced. The years 1860 to 1862 witnessed an increase in Irish devotion to the Papacy.
