The Irish Mob | Dublin | New York | Chicago | Boston - English

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.

What Is The Irish Mob?

The Irish Mob is the oldest organized crime group in the United States, in existence since the early 19th century. Originating in Irish American street gangs—depicted in Herbert Asbury’s 1928 book The Gangs of New York—the Irish Mob has appeared in most major U.S. cities, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

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The Latest Stories

Al Capone and The Irish Mob

by Owen Forsyth

Alphonse Capone or just Al Capone instantly recognizable as one of the most notorious and well-known figures of the Twentieth Century. He had many other aliases, Snorky, Scarface, Scarface Al, and Al Brown, used furniture salesman. Capone was both an ally and enemy to...

The Untold Story of the Diamond Brothers Gang

by Owen Forsyth

This photograph, which was taken in 1926, is quite an unusual police line-up for in 1926 these four were known as the Diamond Brothers gang, headed by the infamous Jack "Legs" Diamond and his younger brother Eddie. Also in the photo is Thomas "Fatty" Walsh, another...

“Dapper Dan” McCarthy – Union Racketeer

by Owen Forsyth

“Dapper Dan” McCarthy was one of Dean O’Banions North Side gangsters, along with other such notorious names as Hymie Weiss, “Schemer” Drucci, “Bugs” Moran, “Nails” Morton & Louis “Two Gun” Altierre. Sometimes known as Handsome Dan McCarthy, “Dapper Dan” was mainly...

“Wild” Jimmy Haggerty & The Schuylkill Rangers

“Wild Jimmy” Haggerty was a criminal in Philadelphia and later in New York City during the mid 19th century. Jimmy Haggerty was the leader of the Schuylkill Rangers, a street gang which terrorized the South Philadelphia waterfront for over 25 years. The notorious...

John Allen – The Wickedest Man in New York

John Allen, also known as E.E. Van Allen or "The Allen" was a notorious underworld gangster and who owned a saloon on Water Street in early New York. Born in Syracuse in New York to well to do & deeply religious parents in 1823, he was one of nine children. Two of...

Corlears Hook – The Lower East Side

Corlears Hook was once a middle-class neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan which in the 1820's began its descent into a den of crime, vice and sin. It was once a Native American Settlement and then an industrious shipyard, the neighborhood was about to...

The Distinguished Owen Vincent Madden of Hot Springs, Arkansas

Owen Vincent Madden was a quiet an unassuming character in Hot Springs, Arizona, he married the postmasters daughter, Agnes Denby. He was often seen out on the streets tipping his hat to the women. He was always quick to give impressive donations to the Boys Club. He...

Sophie Lyons – Queen of Thieves

Sophie Lyons was called the queen of thieves but while she was under the guidance of Frederika "Marm" Mandelbaum she was known as the princess of thieves. Sophie Lyons was one of Marm's best and brightest, almost like a daughter to her. Lyons would become one of the...

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.

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...

Prohibition ends in America on this day

On the 5th of December 1933, the National & Constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the U.S comes to an end. Originally brought into law in 1920 and after 13 years the law was finally repealed. The...

Charlotte “Lottie” Kreisberger / Coll

The quintessential mob moll, a street wise German Jewish girl Lottie Kreisberger was first Vincent Coll's girlfriend and later wife. She channeled Mad Dog Coll's aggression to terrorize New York—from innocent bystanders to bosses like Owney Madden & Dutch Schultz....

Dutch Schultz gets arrested

After a bloody gang war with Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll and his gang, Arthur Flegenheimer or Dutch Schultz as he is better known was nervous, its said that the only person to have given Schultz the jitters was "Mad Dog" Coll, so much so that Schultz even moved out of his...

Mad Dog Coll v Borrelli

February 12, 1930, the Schultz-Coll war began with the shooting of Carmine Borelli, one of Dutch Schultz’s top lieutenants, and Mayme Layton aka Mary Smith, on Inwood Ave, the Bronx. Apparently Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll believed Borelli knew of Coll’s war plans against...

Texas Guinan – Queen of the nightclubs

Born in Texas in 1884 to Irish parents, some sources say one or both of her parents were born in Dublin, Ireland. Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan, better known as Texas Guinan was a movie star and star of the New York stages. But she is probably best known for being the...

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....

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...

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...

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.

The James McBratney Murder

The James McBratney murder was a series of events that combined into one story but would have an impact on mob history. The common theory seems to be that McBratney was involved in the accidental killing of Emanuel Gambino, nephew of legendary mob boss Carlo Gambino...

River Pirates on the Hudson & East Rivers

From 1866 to 1877 river pirates terrorized the water of New York's rivers and harbor robbing cargo and what ever other goods they could from boats that were docked or coming in to port. Piracy in the waters of New York became so bad that the police eventually set up a...

The Bloody Maxwell District Chicago

For about a hundred years, the Maxwell Street District or better known as Bloody Maxwell on the Near West Side of Chicago, was the toughest neighborhood in town from the 1850s through the 1950s. Named after Dr. Philip Maxwell, who had served in the military, was the...

Frankie Lake, Terry Druggan and the Valley Gang

Frankie Lake and Terry Druggan were leaders of The Valley Gang from Chicago, the were one of the most successful bootleggers of their time, amassing a fortune from bootlegging and rum-running. Its said they were making so much money that even the lowest gang member...

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...

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.