In 1844 Messrs. Laird & Sons (then at 101, Union Street) were appointed agents at Glasgow for the Dundalk Steam Packet Co., the first steamer from Glasgow, the FINN MACCOUL, sailing on the 30th November, 1844. For a period of forty years, from 1827 to 1867, Messrs. T. Cameron & Co. had maintained steamship services between Glasgow and Greenock, and ports on the North and West coasts of Ireland, and from 1843 until 1867 a weekly service between Liverpool and Sligo. In 1867 the Glasgow services were conducted by the joint firms of Messrs. T. Cameron & Co. and Alex. A. Laird & Co., but the following year, owing to the decease of Mr. Cameron, the business was entirely taken over by Messrs. Laird. Messrs. Cameron’s steamers were named after flowers and plants (with two exceptions, referred to later), the first steamer of this class being the SHAMROCK, built in 1847, followed by the THISTLE in 1848, ROSE in 1851, MYRTLE in 1854, and the GARLAND in 1857. At the time of the change of firm, Messrs. Cameron & Co. had been opposed on the Glasgow and Sligo and Liverpool and Sligo stations, for ten years, by a local company, the Sligo Steam Navigation Co. This was subsequently settled amicably, Messrs. Alex. A. Laird & Co. retired from the Liverpool and Sligo trade, and the Sligo Steam Navigation Co. withdrew from the Glasgow trade, and having purchased the opposition steamer GARLAND, renamed her the GLASGOW. The two exceptions in class of name, to which reference has been made, were the NORTHMAN and IRISHMAN, trading as the Glasgow and Dublin Screw Steam Packet Co. They were amongst the earliest iron screw steamers built, the former having been launched in 1847 and the latter in 1854. These two steamers retained the colour of the old St. George Co. on the funnel, viz., a white funnel with a black top. The IRISHMAN was the last steamer so distinguished, all succeeding steamers carrying what is now the recognised “Laird” funnel—white and red in equal proportions, with a black top. In 1869, to meet the requirements of the West Coast of Ireland trade, the Company purchased the steamer SCOTIA, and renamed her the LAUREL. Two steamers were added to the fleet in 1878. These were the steamships AZALEA and CEDAR. These ships are identical in measurement and capacity, each being 217 feet long, 30 feet broad, and 15 feet deep, with a gross register of 750 tons, and with excellent saloon accommodation for seventy passengers. An important addition was made to the fleet in 1879, when the magnificent and fast steamship SHAMROCK was built. She was considerably in advance in point of capacity, speed, and accommodation of any steamer previously built for the firm. She measures 231 feet 2 inches in length, 31 feet 3 inches in breadth, and 15 feet 5 inches in depth; and her gross register is 864 tons. She is certified to carry eighty saloon passengers, and is equipped with every modern convenience for their comfort.