The history of Irish mob in America goes back over 200 years. It started in the early 1800s with street gangs like the Forty Thieves and the Dead Rabbits. The gangs became more organized units in the 1900s with the North Side Gang, the Westies and the Winter Hill Gang. Here are 17 of the most prevalent Irish gangs in American history
The Forty Thieves
New York City 1825 - Early 1850s
The very first criminal gang in New York. The Forty Thieves were formed by their leader Edward Coleman in 1825 in the Five Points section of Lower Manhattan. When first formed, the gang was a revolt against low social status but it evolved into a violent criminal entity that terrorized the area.
Coleman became the first prisoner ever executed at “The Tombs”, now known as the Manhattan Detention Complex. By the 1850s, the Forty Thieves had pretty much dissolved. Most of their members branched off with some of the newer gangs, or even formed their own gangs.
The Kerryonians
New York City 1825 - 1830s
The Kerryonians were the 2nd oldest New York gang. They formed shortly after the Forty Thieves. The two groups both operated in Five Points and pretty much existed peacefully with each other while teaming up to fight any outsiders. The Kerryonians feuded hard with another gang known as “The Pelter”.
The majority of the gang were first generation immigrants from County Kerry, Ireland. The Kerryonians in particular had a lot of problems with British immigrants. One of the things that the gang was most known for was shutting down famous British actor William Charles Macready’s performance at Astor Place.
Roach Guards
New York City 1820s - 1860s
The Roach Guards were originally formed as a means to protect the local Five Points liquor merchants. They were led by a gangster named Ted Roach, hence the group’s name. Like all the other Irish gangs in Five Points, they were rivals with the Bowery Boys.
Internal dissent would be the downfall of the Roach Guards. Some of their members branched off to start the Dead Rabbits and a deadly battle between the two groups ensued. The Roach Guards began to wane in the 1850s and would be completely gone by the Civil War in 1861.
Dead Rabbits
New York City 1830s - 1850s
Also known as The Mulberry Street Boys. They operated in lower Manhattan in the 1830s through the 1850s. The Dead Rabbits are the gang that Martin Scorceze’s Gangs of New York was based on.
The gang got their name after a dead rabbit was ceremoniously tossed into the center of their gang meetings. When they were ready to fight, they would carry a dead rabbit on the end of a pike. The gang started as a spinoff gang involving some unhappy members of the Roach Guards.
The most famous member of the gang was “Hell Cat” Maggie. Maggie was a vicious fighter who filed her teeth and fingernails to points. She has an Irish whiskey named after her. Hell Cat Maggie is the original female gangster in New York. Later there would be Battle Annie with the Gopher Gang.
The Chichester Gang aka The Chichesters
New York City 1820s - 1860s
They were named after their leader John Chichester. This gang had almost 100 members. They were into robbing local businesses and fencing the stolen goods. The Chichester Gang was aligned with the Dead Rabbits in their fight against the Bowery Boys.
The gang was formed all the way back in the 1820s. They maintained a constant existence for over 40 years in Lower Manhattan. Like many of the other gangs at the time in Five Points, they were absorbed into the Whyos after the end of the civil war in 1865.
Whyos Gang
New York City 1860s - 1890s
The Whyos Gang was the coming together of several Five Points gangs after the civil war ended. The police had been attacking the smaller gangs, causing the merger. The Whyos were led in their glory days 1870 - 1888 by Danny Lyons and Danny Driscoll. They were absolutely the most powerful gang in the country during the late 1800s.
They were big into extorting local business owners and running prostitution rings. What they were most known for was being enforcers and hitmen for hire. Danny Lyons was executed by hanging in 1888 for the murder of a rival gangster John Quinn. Danny Driscoll was hanged the same year, weakening the group.
Another one of their members was also arrested in 1888 and actually was carrying a “price chart” where murder was for $100, a broken arm or leg for $19, gunshot to the leg for $20, and an ear bit off for $15. The remaining Whyos members soon began fighting over control of what was left of the gang.
It all came crashing down for the Whyos when the Monk Eastman Gang moved in on their territory in the 1890s. The Whyos quickly dissolved and the Eastman Gang took control, and also became the first non-Irish gang to become prominent in New York City. Eastman and his gang were mostly Jewish. The Jewish mob prospered in NYC for the next 50 years.
Joseph “Legs” Laman Gang -
Detroit 1920s - 1930s
This Irish gang terrorized the streets of Detroit, Michigan back in the bootlegging era. Their top racket was hijacking liquor trucks that came through the city. They also kidnapped local bootleggers and then demanded a massive ransom. They brutally took their share of the Detroit underworld profits by force.
The Legs Laman Gang also liked to kidnap legitimate business owners for sport as well. During one of these incidents in 1929, Laman himself was shot and arrested. After his gang killed the businessman, Laman actually cooperated with authorities and testified against his own gang. This brought an end to the Legs Laman Gang.
Northside Gang
Chicago 1910s - 1930s
The Northside Gang vs. the Capone Gang was the biggest war that ever broke out between the Irish mob and the Italian mafia.And for good reason, The Northside Gang was one of the most powerful Irish gangs in American history. The two gangs battled for supremacy of the Chicago bootlegging rackets for nearly a decade.
The gang was led by fearless Dion O’Bannion. He had a force crew of hitmen all with interesting nicknames: Earl “Hymie” Weiss, Vincent “Schemer” Drucci and George “Bugs” Moran. The Northsiders had tremendous political and law enforcement connections in Chicago.
O’Banion set Johnny Torrio up to be arrested which caused the violence to start. O’Banion would be killed at his flower shop in 1924. Hymie Weiss became new Northside leader and they tried many times to kill Torrio and Al Capone. Weiss was killed by the Capone gang in 1926. Schemer Drucci was now in charge, he was killed by a cop the next year.
It was now George “Bugs” Moran’s turn. Bugs continued hijacking Capone’s liquor and killing his men, so Al Capone decided it was time to send a message. On February 14, 1929, seven Northside members were killed in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. After this, the Northside Gang slowly faded to obscurity.
Gustin Gang
Boston 1910 - 1930s
This is Boston's original Irish gang run by Frank Wallace from South Boston aka Southie. Wallace and his tough as nails ex-boxer brother Steve and another younger brother Jim as his lieutenants. The gang’s origins go all the way back to the 1910s but they became the heads of the Boston underworld during the 1920s.
The Gustins made their money in lots of different ways. Bootlegging, truck hijacking, robbery and extortion were just a few of their many rackets. While there was a growing Italian mafia presence in Boston in the 1920s, the Gustin Gang had firm control of the territory in this era.
It wasn’t until 1931 that the gang would feel the mafia’s presence. The Gustin Gang hijacked several trucks associated with North End boss Joe Lombardo. Lombardo called for a sit down where Frank Wallace and his partner Bernard “Dodo” Walsh were ambushed and killed when they arrived.
The gang existed for many more years under the leadership of Steve Wallace. They began a slow decline that continued until they were essentially dissolved, or absorbed by other Irish gangs. This led to the New England mafia gaining control in Boston, which would be challenged years later when the Winter Hill Gang was formed.
Hudson Dusters
New York City 1890s - 1910s
This New York City Irish gang was started all the way back in the 1890s by a gangster named “Circular Jack”. Their main operations were on Hudson Street in Manhattan. The Dusters controlled most of the west side. They had a big presence on the New York waterfront in the early 1900s and 1910s.
They demanded extortion payments from local businesses and just flat out robbed the local push cart vendors in the neighborhood. Most of the gang’s members were drug addicts,which helped lead to their eventual demise. By 1917, other gangs had stepped into the territory of the Dusters and the gang was essentially finished.
Gopher Gang
New York City 1890s - 1920s
Battle Annie This was one of the original Hell’s Kitchen Irish gangs, formed in the 1890s. Their membership was at its peak around 500 members. Their most famous member was Owney “The Killer” Madden, who went on to become a major underworld figure in the bootlegging era.
The Gopher Gang were into burglary, muggings, armed robberies, hijackings, illegal gamblinga nd running prostituton rings. They had a younger generation of members that they called the Baby Gophers. There was also a female contingent known as the Lady Gophers, which was once led by the infamous Battle Annie aka “The Queen of Hell’s Kitchen”
By the mid 1910s, the gang was in the midst of a war with multiple other gangs moving into Hell’s Kitchen. Owney Madden was serving a long prison sentence. Their Gopher’s leader “One Lung” Curran died in 1917. After that, the Gopher Gang basically broke up into other gang sets.
White Hand Gang
New York City 1900s - 1920s
Before the Italian mafia took over the New York City waterfront, it was run by the White Hand Gang, an all Irish group. They were severely opposed to other immigrants coming into their territory with a particular hatred for the Italians that were becoming far more prevalent by the 1920s.
The Italians at that time were called the Black Hand Gang, thus why the Irish became known as the White Hand Gang. White Hand leader “Wild Bill” Lovett led an aggressive resistance to the Italians and was able to keep them at bay for a few years. He was killed in 1923 by Willie “Two Knife” Altieri, a Black Hand hitman.
Lovett’s successor Richard “Peg Leg '' Lonergan was killed two years later by the Italians as well. By this time, the Italians had many powerful gangsters on the rise like Lucky Luciano, Albert Anastasia and Joe Adonis. The White Hand began to quickly back off, and by 1928, the Italians were 100% in control of New York City’s waterfront rackets.
K&A Gang
Philadelphia 1950s (still in existence)
The K&A Gang is also known as the Northeast Philly Irish Mob. They were formed all the way back in the 1950s and remnants of the group still exist today. The gang dealed heavily in loan sharking and drug dealing. They also extorted many local Philadelphia businesses.
They have been one of the biggest methamphetamine trafficking organizations in the country for the last 40+ years. Philly has been called “meth capital of the world” and the K&A Gang are the biggest reason why. They have strong connections to the Philadelphia and New Jersey mafia families, and to gangs in Ireland.
A string of drug arrests rocked the gang in the 1980s and 1990s. One member was convicted of selling $52 million dollars worth of meth. Later in the 2000s, one of the men involved in their drug trade Dave Criniti testified against K&A, putting a bunch of their members in prison.
The Westies
New York City - Hell’s Kitchen 1960s - 1990s
The Irish mob had been in Hell’s Kitchen, New York since the late 1800s.
They became known as “the Westies” when Jimmy Coonan took over the west side in 1977. Long time Irish boss Mickey Spillane was killed that year by the Gambino Family, much to Coonan’s delight who wanted Spillane dead for an old grudge.
Jimmy’s right hand man was the violent Mickey Featherstone. The mention of these two men struck fear in all of the locals in the know. Mickey had killed multiple guys in Hell’s Kitchen bars. Coonan had killed and even dismembered many victims. He also went around bragging about it, once carrying a man’s testicles in a milk jug to show around the local saloons.
A partnership was set up between the Westies and the Gambino Family. They became enforcers for the mafia. Jimmy had made the connection through Roy DeMeo, the infamous Gambino hitman. Years later, when John Gotti wanted a union official shot or “busted up”, he went to the Westies who shot John O’Connor in the buttocks.
Although the partnership gave the Westies prestige, it actually led to the Westies' downfall. The gang became fractured because Mickey and most of the other guys hated being associated with the mafia. Coonan ended up having Mickey set up for a murder he didn’t comitt. Mickey then decided to make a deal and testify against Jimmy and the Westies.
In 1988, Jimmy was sentenced to 75 years in prison and after testifying, Mickey went into the Witness Protection Program. Many of the other Westies also got heavy sentences. They were pretty much decimated by this. Later, they played a role in Gotti’s racketeering trial when they were able to rig the jury for Gotti to get acquitted.
The Winter Hill Gang
Boston 1950s - 2000s
The mostly Irish Boston gang that was run by James “Whitey” Bulger. Winter Hill is one of the most prosperous Irish gangs in American history. They controlled the criminal rackets in Boston and worked with the Patriarca Family who ran the Italian mafia in New England.
Buddy McLean was the first leader of the gang. He was from the Winter Hill neighborhood in Somerville, Mass. He was in a deadly street war with the McLaughlin brothers from Charlestown. The war raged from 1961 - 1967, sixty young men were killed, including Buddy in 1965. Two McLaughlin brothers were killed. In total, 3 sets of brothers were killed in this bloody war.
After Buddy McLean’s death, Howie Winter became boss of Winter Hill, and he would keep that post for 13 years. The gang was thriving as the biggest organized crime family in the city of Boston. All of the other major cities were dominated by the Italian mafia, but the Winter Hill Gang made the Irish mob the dominant force in this city for many years.
Patriarca did not challenge the territory of the Winter Hill Gang, although he often took a percentage of their earnings. The relationship between the two groups went back for decades. In the late 1960s, Winter Hill hitman Joe Barboza testified against Patriarca which caused a strain. But they would still work together by the time Whitey Bulger took over Winter Hill in 1978.
When Bulger and Steven Flemmi’s informant statuses were revealed in 1998, the gang took a big hit, from which it would not recover. While Whitey was on the run, his successor Kevin Weeks became a cooperating witness in 2000. Boston was changing, and street level organized crime is no longer tolerated like it once was. Winter Hill has been mostly inactive for the last decade.
The Charlestown Mob
Boston (Charlestown) 1950s - 1960s
They were called the Charlestown Mob but also referred to as the McLaughlin Gang. They ruled one of Boston’s toughest towns and served as hitmen and general muscle for the Patriarca Family. They had a jovial relationship with the Winter Hill Gang until 1961 when George McLaughlin was beaten badly by a couple of Buddy’s friends.
His brother Bernie McLaughlin reached out to McLean, who informed him that George had deserved the beating for abusing a Winter Hill guy’s girlfriend. Bernie waged war and tried to blow up Buddy’s car. Buddy responded by killing Bernie that same year in 1961. Then on October 20, 1965, another brother Ed “Punchy” McLaughlin was shot and killed.
Just ten days later, Buddy McLean himself was killed on October 31, 1965. That was exactly four years to the day that he killed Bernie McLaughlin. The war went on for two more years, and the McLaughlin Gang would get wiped out in the process. The only surviving brother was George, who had gotten sloppy drunk in 1961 and caused the entire war.
The McLaughlins had another pair of brothers who were experienced killers, Steve and Connie Hughes. Unfortunately for them, Winter Hill had Joe “The Animal” Barboza, the most prominent hitman in Boston history. Barboza made it his mission to kill both Hughes brothers, and he got both of them within one year of each other. Winter Hill would take over the McLaughlin territory.
The Mullan Gang
Boston (Southie) 1950s - 1970s
The Mullans were a South Boston gang that operated from the 1950s through the 1970s. Stealing from the ships that came into Boston Harbor full of goods was a specialty of the Mullans. At the height of their power, the gang had about 60 members.
They battled for supremacy in Southie with the Killeen Gang, who Whitey Bulger started out with. That rivalry started in 1971 when one of the Killeen brothers bit off the nose of Mickie Dwyer, a Mullan inside of a Southie bar. A shooting war broke out on the streets of Southie after that.
After several men including Killeen boss Donald Killeen was killed, Pat Nee of the Mullans reached out to Whitey Bulger and a truce was reached. The current Winter Hill boss Howie Winter mediated the dispute between the two sides and then merged the remainder of both gangs, which helped Whitey take over Southie.