Historical

**THE IRISH MOB** Gabriela McCormack


 * HISTORICAL:**

Irish-American mobs impacted that of a generation in the United States, particularly in the area of Boston, Massachusetts. "These Irish gangs, created and imposed conflicts that would impact a generation between the 1920’s- 1980’s" (Irish Mob 1). The primary events occurred through the 1960’s between the two dominant Irish-American organized crime gangs within Massachusetts. There were many different factors that came into play as to why and how the Irish mob came into power. One of the primary driving factors was that of the Prohibition of alcohol in the U.S during the “roaring 20’s”(Organized Crime). The banning of alcohol except for medicinal and religious purposes left many opportunities for illegal actions. The Irish mob was not only known for bootlegging but also dealt with many dog racing along with certain gambling operations. The “ruining” of the generation all came down to the competition between many present and functioning mobs (History Irish Gangs). That included both Italian and Jewish mobsters with the infamous Al Capone leading the Italians. The competition for more grand and craving for success became to large and let to many other certain conflicts which ultimately led to the “Irish Mob War” (History Irish Gangs). The fight for dominance between the two most powerful Irish-American mobs at the time within the boundaries of Massachusettes. These two different gangs were known as the Charlestown Mobin Boston and the Winter Hull Gang of Somerville (Irish Mob). By the end of the 1980's many of these Irish gangs began to not only fracture down but also lost most of their influence due to infighting. It was ultimately the allowance of outsiders into many of these Irish-American mafias that led to their downfall of power and influence. These powerful Irish-American mobs were brought down due to many federal institutions such as the FBI to prosecute these criminal like enterprises (Irish Mob).


 * Works Cited:**

"History Irish Gangs". Ehow. Web. 8. Jan. 2013 "Irish Mob". Wikipedia. Web. 7 Jan. 2013. "organized crime." // American History //. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 8 Jan. 2013.