The Irish Mob | Dublin | New York | Chicago

The Irish Mob is a website dedicated to tracking the history of organized crime, gangsters, mobsters, bootleggers, gun moll’s, showgirls and more. The majority of the stories published on this website are about the people, places and things connected to The Irish Mob from the Gangs of New York Era through the Prohibition Era right up to recent times.

So what is Charles “Lucky” Luciano doing with three Irish Hoods? In 1926 they were all brought in for questioning for Felonious Assault. What it was in connection with was an attempted robbery of Charles Haffman & Albert Levy. The Line up was Eddie Diamond, Jack “Legs” Diamond, Thomas “Fatty” Walsh & Charles “Lucky” Luciano.

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Murder on the Brooklyn Docks is about Brooklyns White Hand Gang who were in fact a collection of smaller gangs under one umbrella, the main factions being the Warren Street Red Onion Gang and the Jay Street Gang, who fought among themselves for control of the rackets and docks.

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What Is The Irish Mob?

The Irish mob has had a significant influence on America’s crime world, originating in the early 1800s and spanning across much of the country. One of its first incarnations started as street gangs in New York City, as depicted in 1928 book “The Gangs of New York,” by Herbert Asbury.

The Latest Stories

Kevin Kelly

by Owen Forsyth

Kevin Kelly was a member of the Westies who joined the gang in the late 1970's. He worked his way up through the ranks of the gang, starting off as an enforcer and debt collector. He would be used by the older members as muscle to collect their loans. In one instance...

The Fall of “Wild” Bill Lovett

by Owen Forsyth

After Bill Lovett had begun to clean house, taking out or removing the previous White Hand Gang leader's loyalists through a series of murders, shootings and stabbings. But none of it went opposed, Dinny Meehan the previous leader and Garry Barry still had friends...

“Wild” Bill cleans house

by Owen Forsyth

With Dinny Meehan out of the way, "Wild" Bill Lovett assumed control of the White Hand Gang. Although there was no evidence to link Lovett to Meehan's murder, it didn't stop the talk around the docks, with the dock loaders and stevedores speculating as to who Meehan's...

Dandy Johnny Dolan – More Than a Comic Book Character

Dandy Johnny Dolan was the subject of a Simon & Kirby comic book in the 1940's, based on the life and crimes of the real John Dolan, who was born in 1849 in Lower Manhattan, he became the leader of one of the most notorious gangs in the mid to late 1800's, The...

The Water Street Revival

Water Street was originally located on the waterfront in the 4th Ward on the Lower East Side which is now the Financial District today. “For at least twenty-five years, Water Street was probably the scene of more violent crime than any other street on the continent.”...

The Manhattan Savings Institution Bank Robbery 1878

The Manhattan Savings Institution Bank Robbery. On October 27, 1878 The manager of the Manhattan Savings Institution found the vault empty and nearly $3 million in currency and securities was missing. In real dollars it remains the largest bank robbery in history. The...

The Dead Rabbits & The 1857 Riot

The Dead Rabbits were a street gang in Lower Manhattan in the 1850s, whose members were mostly Irish. The were also named the "Mulberry Boys" and the "Mulberry Street Boys" by the NYPD because they did also operate along Mulberry Street in the Five Points. They were...

The Failed Assassination of Paul Kelly

Biff Ellison was one of Paul Kelly's gang members in the Five Points gang, he started out as a bouncer in Fat Flynn's dive bar on Bond Street. He later became a bouncer of a bar on Christie street where he made his name by knocking a police officer unconscious with a...

Early Characters

The earliest recorded organised criminal gang in the United States was in 1825. They were based in one of the most notorious slums in the world at the time, The Five Points in New York’s Lower East Side.

Read about some of the craziest characters from the days of the Gangs of New York. People like Bill “The Butcher” Poole & John Morrissey, gangs like The Dead Rabbits, Whyos & Plug Uglies, places like Shang Drapers Dive Bar or Billy McGlory’s Armory Hall.

Prohibition Era

You will read about some of the most Notorious Names in Mob History on this website, Bosses, Hitmen and more. From New York to Chicago to Boston some of the biggest names all in one place.

Prohibition in New Jersey

The controversy over the nation’s Prohibition Amendment spilled over into New Jersey politics. Republicans, whose base was in the more rural parts of the State, supported Prohibition; Democrats whose strength was in the big cities were opposed to Prohibition. The...

Bloody Williamson

Williamson County in Southern Illinois during the 1920's was a lawless place, there was the Herrin Mine Massacre where 23 people were killed during a strike, bootlegging and Prohibition were in full effect and this would set the stage for an all out war between hated...

The Coll Schultz War Part 2 – The Death of a Mad Dog

With the months of May and June being the bloodiest part of the gang war between the Schultz and Coll gangs which left a trail of dead bodies in its wake, there would be further violence and one of the most infamous shootings was still to come. On July 28th came the...

The Fox Lake Massacre

The Fox Lake Massacre was an event when Prohibition Era violence spilled over into Lake County, northeastern Illinois on June 1, 1930. Gangsters from Terry "Machine Gun" Druggan & Frankie Lake's gang were gunned down at Manning's Hotel in Fox Lake. That area of...

Larry Fay Nightclub Owner

Larry Fay was the owner of one of the most famous clubs throughout the entire Prohibition Era, the El Fey Club but would meet his demise in 1932 at another ones of his speakeasy clubs, the Casa Blanca Club. Not much is known about Larry Fay's early life, he was born...

Charles “Vannie” Higgins – The Last Irish Boss of Brooklyn

Charles "Vannie" Higgins was a mobster and one of the most prominent bootleggers during Prohibition. Known as "Brooklyn's Last Irish Boss", Higgins was notorious for his escapes from the police and law Higgins was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1897. He learned to be a...

Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll

Originally from Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland the Coll family emigrated in New York in 1909 Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll joined up with with Dutch Schultz‘s gang and quickly rose through the ranks; by the late 1920s, he was an enforcer and assassin for the gangster....

John Patrick Looney

John Patrick Looney was a gangster in Rock Island, Illinois during the early 20th century. Looney served as the model for John Looney, a character in Max Allan Collins' graphic novel Road to Perdition. The character was renamed John Rooney and portrayed by Paul Newman...

Little Augie Orgen’s Fatal Mistake

It’s believed the partnership between Jack “Legs” Diamond and Jacob “Little Augie” Orgen started when Jack cut Little Augie into his narcotic and bootlegging business, for a slice of Little Augie’s Labor Union racket. This deal didn’t sit well with Little Augie’s top...

The Coll Schultz War Part 2 – The Death of a Mad Dog

Prohibition Era

You will read about some of the most Notorious Names in Mob History on this website, Bosses, Hitmen and more. From New York to Chicago to Boston some of the biggest names all in one place.

Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll & His Gang

After a disagreement with Dutch Schultz over the robbery of a dairy in the Bronx among other things, "Mad Dog" Coll broke away and started his own gang, taking some of Schultz's guys with him, they attempted to muscle in on Schultz’s rackets. This started a gang war...

Dandy Johnny Dolan – More Than a Comic Book Character

When They Tried To Whack Eddie Diamond

Legs Diamond had one soft spot in life, his brother Eddie. He would have sacrificed everything he owned to bring him back to health. Tuberculosis had ravaged Eddie as well as other members of his family. Eddie had been sent to various sanatorium to try get cured but...

The Scissors Sisters – A Page From The Westies Book

In one of the more shocking crimes that has taken place in Ireland, the Scissor Sisters is definitely one that is high on the list, in fact Jimmy Coonan, Edward "The Butcher" Cummiskey, even the DeMeo crew would be proud of these sisters, it could also be included as...

A night with the Whyo’s

The Whyo's gang were described by journalists as one of the worst to have ever infested the city of New York. Founded in the late 1800's, they ruled the old Five Points neighborhood, the 4th & 6th wards with a reign of terror from 1860 to 1890, their call Why-ooo,...

Notorious Names

From tough guys like Pat Nee from Boston to Jimmy Coonan, Mickey Featherstone & The Westies gang all the way to the biggest name of them all James “Whitey” Bulger, who was Boss for more than 20 years and went on the run for a further 16.

About This Site

This website is for educational purposes only, all information is as reliable as the sources it came from and not presented as undeniable facts, just a resource for helping readers look into the history of the Irish Mob. All images belong to their respective owners. From time to time there will be graphic content, such as crime scene’s etc.

I am an amateur writer and I research these stories from various sources and try to put together some interesting articles as a hobby. I always did like the stories about the Mafia and eventually found my way into reading and learning about the Irish Mob, Whitey Bulger in particular and from there I started to learn about other characters and writing about them.