AP+Irish+Mob

Audience (Irish Mob) Dylan Mercier

During the hayday of the Irish mob the people who would have flocked into organized crime would have been those who were poor and fairly uneducated. These people wouldn’t have much a chance in basic society so a life of crime would have appealed to them. Publisher Weekly did an article about an incarcerated Irish mob criminal; “Within the first three months of my incarceration, I made a commitment to myself to change, get an education [through Boston University's prison program] and really learn how to write” (Millikin). This man would be exactly the kind of person that the Irish mob would appeal to because he wouldn’t have an many of the needed skills to get an education so he could make a living from a life of crime. his life that these uneducated individuals could live would be a\n existence of freedom and money that most other regular people would never feel in their lives. To the people of South Boston (Southie) joining the Irish mob may have also helped in the sense that it could at least provide a small sense of security. If someone was Irish living in Southie then the best way to provide themselves safety would have been to join the Irish mob; ““In the early 1950's and 1960's, Boston appeared to be a no man's land of warring organized crime factions” (MacNutt). The best way to keep safe in a “no man’s land” is to be sure that you are not caught in the middle so joining the mob would have seemed like a way to stay safe from the other mobs out in Southie. If a person did not want to be caught within the crossfire of the gangs then joining one of the many warring groups was the best solution.

MacNutt, Karen. "Cops and Robbers." //Aware//. Aware. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.

Millikin, Patrick. "Boston Irish Mobster Comes Clean." //PublishersWeekly.com//. 30 Aug. 2004. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.



Historical Sirtaj Singh

The Irish community did not heavily emigrate to America until the 1840s, due to a potato famine, yet they had a hard time to start off in America. A History Channel show explains, “The 1840s Irish potato famine drove the Irish to America. Seen as bottom of the totem pole. First of all they were poor, dirt poor… Considered to be heavy drinkers… Crime was the quickest way to the American dream” (Dead Rabbit). As stated, the Irish were not a major community in America until the mid 1800s. However, when they did finally come to America, they started off as the “bottom of the totem pole”. They were extremely “poor”, and had a hard time getting out of the lives they lived. Due to this, they soon turned to “crime” so they could achieve the “American dream” they had all hoped for after escaping the potato famine. This is where the gangs began sprouting from, and they simply started off with thievery to gain money. As time went on though, they grew and size, and soon became a part of the political system of America. In Chicago, the politicians and businessmen began getting involved with the gangs of the community. An article by the Encyclopedia of Chicago relates, “In Irish communities, the sponsorship of gangs by politicians and businessmen transformed them into ‘athletic clubs’… Based in saloons and clubhouses, and often claiming the membership of over a hundred men ranging from their late teens to early thirties, these clubs ensured the elections of their patrons by stuffing ballot boxes and intimidating voters” (Diamond). The gangs in the Irish community became the tools of the “politicians and businessmen” in Chicago. “Over a hundred men” were used to “ensure the election of their patrons”. They terrorized the residents into voting for their sponser, and even rigged the “ballot boxes”. Historically, the gangs were begun to achieve the American dream. Years later, they were used by the major leaders of Chicago for their own gang, and had their own place in society.

“Dead Rabbit Gang Battles Bowery Boys.” 2012. //The History Channel website//. Web. 27 March 2012. Diamond, Andrew J. "Gangs." //Encyclopedia of Chicago//. Web. 27 March 2012. __

Michael Lagier

Irish Mob: Aim



The Irish mob was initially created as a response to Prohibition. While the Irish mob was responsible for much more than just offering alcohol during a time when it was prohibited, as this article argues “ One of the main reasons the Irish mob existed was prohibition. Speakeasy's were a near instant response to the 12th Amendment” (Northcutt).The creation of such an entity was a “near instant response” to prohibiting something as popular as alcohol, and it allowed a start to an organization that found an easy way to make money off of illegal but popular actions. Many of the Irish Mob’s plans were directly in conflict with the law, however, they often did their best to either get immunity or try to make it harder for them to be stopped or arrested over their actions. One author on the subject argues “…it’s hard for anyone to put themselves back to the time when Whitey Bulger was not a rat, and he was considered to be a lovable crime boss and gangster. That was a result of the FBI agents’ enormous PR skills in spinning the story that Whitey was the good bad guy, the Robin Hood of the underworld” (Daniloff). Whitey Bulger was the leader of the organization for a very long time, and he did his best to get as much immunity as possible by becoming a “rat” and helping the FBI’s investigations. As a result, the FBI’s “enormous PR skills” helped the Irish Mob to stay in business because even though they were committing very large crimes, they were seen by everyone as the “good bad guy” and the “Robin Hood of the underworld,” which means that people saw the Irish Mob as an acceptable evil. The Irish Mob used this immunity to commit crimes as often as it could get away with to increase their monetary gain through any means necessary.

Works Cited

Daniloff, Caleb. //Whitey Bulgar’s Capture End of Story//? BU Today. 24 June 2011. Web.

Northcutt, Stephan. //SANS Insider Guide to Boston//. SANS Technology Institute. 23 March 2011. Web.

Irish Mob: Cultural Denison Spencer

The Irish Mob, existing since the early 1800s, is one of America’s oldest criminal organizations. It is also one of the most pervasive, appearing in many of the country’s major cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia. Unlike other crime organizations, the Irish Mob was most dominant of the criminal underground during the pre-prohibition era. The Mob therefore generated revenue through other illegal means, such as gambling networks, prostitution, betting houses, and fixing races (The Irish Mafia). When the prohibition era did hit, the Mob was able to incorporate bootlegging into their criminal activities. Eventually, however, due to conflicts with the increasingly powerful Italian Mafia and other gangs, the Irish Mob lost dominance of the criminal underground (Hell’s Kitchen). From 1860 to the early 1900s, the Irish Mob maintained its power and influence in society by controlling gambling rings and the majority of bootlegging activities However, in the early years of the twentieth century, the Mob began running into conflict with the rise of the Italian Mafia. In cities such as Boston, New York City, and especially Chicago, the Mob came to bloody confrontation with the opposing organization. One such example is with Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit (The Irish Mob). Also during this time, wars between Irish mobs broke out in these cities, making the Mob as a whole significantly weaker, whereas the Italian Mafia was able to remain strong and more businesslike, granting them dominance.

"Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob: The Westies." //Gangland.net//. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.

"The Irish Mafia, Terror of the White Hand." //EPagini.com//. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.