When the Irish first began emigrating to Liverpool, they were thought of as being immoral and often arrested simply on the word of an aggrieved party, with no evidence presented, when in fact they were the actual victims of crime and prejudice.
Johnny Sr began by working on the docks, a precarious and uncertain mode of earning a living. Work, when it could be found, was 12 hours a day, six days a week and the best most workers could hope for was to be employed for a few days each week. Accidents were a frequent occurrence and those who were injured soon found their place taken by someone else with no compensation offered. Dock workers struggled to survive.
Gibraltar Row, where the majority of them lived, was considered a nether world to the English. Their homes were modest and described as being amongst the least desirable in England. They were box-like structures built in rows of 6 to 8 facing each other across extremely narrow streets, so close it was said that anything louder than a whispered conversation could easily be heard by one’s neighbour.
Houses were usually comprised of four rooms with neither windows nor doors on the sides. There was little private space at the rear as fences were prohibited and neighbours rarely respected boundaries. Leaving the back door open was to invite in the neighbours’ children and animals.
Basements were unfinished cellars, often having to serve as bedrooms for the oldest children. With six children in Johnny Jr’s family, three of them were sleeping there. The main floor was a combined kitchen, eating area and parlour with a set of stairs to the top room, which housed the parents and youngest children. Thankfully, there was a window for ventilation. When originally built, these houses were state-funded and rents were partially subsidised. However, when the massive Irish immigration began, no government that hoped to remain in power could continue to offer subsidies to “those folks” as they were called. Prices shot up overnight to where rent soon took most of a worker’s pay cheque. “ Make the newcomers feel welcome” was the headline in the Liverpool Daily Post; reality on the ground dictated otherwise.
Sidewalks and streets could hardly be recognised as such, always strewn with refuse which local authorities rarely collected. Even blue skies were infrequent, only occasionally showing themselves in the narrowest of strips.
Mealtime at the Maguire’s was traditionally Irish fare: Stew with varying quantities of onions, potatoes, cabbage and mutton being the most popular. Breakfasts were usually porridge, eggs and occasionally bacon. There was rarely a meal that didn’t include potatoes and bread, usually made of oats. Beer was served at every meal, including breakfast.
Furniture was simple, functional and primitive. The most significant piece, obligatory in every home, was a shillelagh, a traditional Irish walking stick with a hooked knob at the head and a beautiful marbled wood grain. It was carved from the Blackthorn tree which were known for both durability and hardness. In Ireland, it was a symbol of resistance and used as a weapon and soon also became one in Liverpool.
Despite all this, the atmosphere in Johnny Jr’s house, as in the majority of Irish homes, was generally cheerful and upbeat. Families were thankful for what they now had in comparison to their previous lives in Ireland.
