Cultural

Tia Cookenmaster: Culture, Irish Mob

"Solitude is strength. to depend on the dependence of a crowd is weakness..." (Brunton) in reference to the Irish Mob.

The Irish mob has displayed a heavy influence in America since early in the 19th century. There have been numerous feuds, which today would be considered blood wars, or gang wars. It was not uncommon for fights to erupt between members of Italian gangs, and the Irish mob. The Irish mobs presence was seen greatly in major cities such as Philadelphia, New York and South Boston (Southie). The Irish Mobs presence was quite tremendous even in the 1960’s. The name given to the conflicts that occurred between the two dominant Irish gangs during this time is the Irish Mob War. This was a bloody display of pride and territory claims. It was integral to each gang that what was “theirs” was defended. Fights often occurred between the Charleston Irish mobsters and the Southie mobsters. It was in their culture, very much as it still is today, to protect what they felt to be rightfully theirs, their home ground. Similar to the gangs today, the Irish mob started out as being a band of “brothers”, helping each other, having one another’s backs. Who eventually became power hungry, money obsessed, blood thirsty killers. Yet even in their later days, they remained true to the culture that they started out with, in being there for one another.

Works Cited

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

“Outlaws, Billy the kid and Whitey Bulger.” Irishamerica.com.Web. 3 Dec. 2012