AP+2014+P3+Irish+Mob



The Irish mob has been a prominent figure within America’s history and has been around since the mid-19th century making it one of the oldest crime organizations in the country. The Irish mob “...waged battles for control of New York City neighborhoods with colorful names like Dead Rabbits and 40 Thieves. A new kind of Irish gangster emerged during Prohibition in the 1920s when rival organizations fought for bootlegging and gambling operations” (“The history of Irish Gangs). When White Bulger was mob boss during 1970-1990, he used fear and power to control the lives of people in Southie. Many people were not able to speak against the Irish mob in fear of retaliation that could result in death. People became numb to the happenings in Southie and felt that “Simply lighting a candle and naming your dead felt like an act of sedition in a town bred on silence enforced by Whitey Bulger’s organization” (MacDonald). Bulger used many ways to instill fear into the people to keep them quite like drugs and dirty cops. Without being able to even turn to local law enforcement, the people in Southie were pretty much powerless to the happenings around them. The drug dealings also kept people hooked so that they were unable to function without drugs and kept people within the control of the Irish mob.
 * Historical- Jennifer **

MacDonald, Michael Patrick. "Whitey Bulger’s Indirect Hits." Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 6 July 2011. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. “The history of Irish gangs”. Geni.com. Geni, n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

The cultural influence that the Irish Mob had back in the 19th and 20th centuries still exists today, albeit less potently, but still just as noticeably. Modern influence of the Irish Mob exists greatly in the media and a near-perfect example of this influence would be the movie, The Departed (2006). In the film, all criminals are a part of the Irish Mob & all cops are Boston Irish, leading to the conclusion that the Irish Mob had infiltrated the police force as well. This corruption was described when the author on TVtropes.org stated, “Because early police work closely resembled thuggery, it was not a prestigious position, and because poorly paid police were vulnerable to corruption, the police were widely despised. It did not take long for the urban police and The Irish Mob to become partners … (noticeably in The Departed, in which nearly all the cop characters are Boston Irish – and all of the criminals are part of The Irish Mob,” (“Officer O’Hara”). While the Irish mob member Whitey Bulger may only be directly linked to 19 murders, the influence of his gangs and extremely negative and poisonous actions will have linked him, though indirectly, to a multitude more of murders than just 19 people. The effects of these actions still exist today, as illustrated by MacDonald when he states, “Southie has been dispersed, and our dead are not coming back” and if anything, these unfortunate events have led a group, even a generation, of people to take action against similar situations in other parts of the country so that history will not continue its vicious cycle. The modern influence of the Irish Mob was further underlined, especially when MacDonald stated, “Why does this matter now, so many years later? It matters for all of us who were most affected by the drug trade and its attendant violence in Southie,” (MacDonald). Although the physical presence of the Irish Mob was restricted to the 19th and 20th centuries, the cultural influence of the Mob can still be felt today and its effects are still in existence as well.
 * Cultural- Natalie **

 "Officer O'Hara." Tvtropes.org. TV Tropes, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. MacDonald, Michael Patrick. "Whitey Bulger’s Indirect Hits." Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 6 July 2011. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

During the 19th century, the impoverished northeastern America flourished with a multitude of Irish gangs that had a primary audience of either rival gangs or the general public. Most Irish gang members, similar to the Italian counterparts, partook in “...bootlegging, gambling, drug trafficking, extortion, and murder” (“Irish American Journey…”). This type of gang behavior was driven by the poor conditions within Irish ghettos of America and was utilized by the members in order to instill fear into the public to help keep their neighborhoods safe. Ultimately, if an Irish mob was capable of putting surrounding neighborhoods in fear, they were able to completely control and operate those areas. However, with multiple Irish gangs functioning within the northeast, some fall into a rivalry with each other. One prime example of an Irish mob rivalry would be between the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys, two of the most infamous gangs of New York. The Dead Rabbits often excelled in “...robbery, pick-pocketing and brawling--particularly with their sworn enemies, the Bowery Boys” (Andrews). This ensues the idea that the Irish gangs were not trying to gain power over the public, but also trying to gain power over each other. In all, the many different Irish gangs, as a whole known as the Irish mob, ran the organized crime throughout America with the public as the audience.
 *  Audience- Sam **

Andrews, Evan. "7 Infamous Gangs of New York." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 04 June 2013. Web. 05 Jan. 2014. "Irish American Journey: Famous Irish American Gangsters." Irish American Journey: Famous Irish American Gangsters. Irish American Journey, 2013. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

Since the mid-19th century, the Irish Mob has existed and is “one of the oldest organized crime groups in the United States” (“The history of Irish gangs"). The main purpose of the mob was to control the crime that was conducted in the streets of places like South Boston and place a fear of them into the public. The large group’s interest in every crime from selling alcohol during the Prohibition Era to dog racing and gambling operations shows how far the reach of the group had. At first the Irish Mob was the group committing the criminal acts, but after Whitey Bulger, the Mob simply controlled the dealers and bookies. This was done by the Mob making “...it known that every dealer in the neighborhoods he controlled had to pay him ‘rent’ to operate” (Bruno). The Mob’s power over the crime was clearly shown with how the criminals would pay the rent. They followed the rule at the fear of the fact that “Anyone who refused would have to suffer the consequences” (Bruno). The fear that the criminals had for the Mob was also the fear that the public had for them as well. The purpose the Irish Mob had in controlling the crime and placing fear into the public was achieved and is seen in how Michael Patrick MacDonald, one of the public who was affected by the Mob’s actions, “We won’t hear about those who never got justice because of the code of silence we were raised on by Whitey’s organization” (MacDonald). The purpose of having fear and control on the public was achieved by the Mob.
 * Aim- Olivia **

Bruno, Anthony. “James ‘Whitey’ Bulger.” Crime Library. 2004. Web. 7 Jan 2014. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">MacDonald, Michael Patrick. "Whitey Bulger’s Indirect Hits." Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 6 July 2011. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“The history of Irish gangs”. Geni.com. Geni, n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.