Paddy Whacked: The Irish Mob

17/03/2006

Long before the Mafia, Murder Inc., and the African-American gangster, "Paddy" was plundering and pilfering the stars and stripes. Once called the "National Scourge", "The Shame of the Cities", and "The White Man's Burden", the Irish rose from hellish beginnings riddled with disease, vice, and death. The Potato Famine or "Ireland's Genocide" had wiped out a third of their population--America offered hope. They arrived in swarms, starving and destitute, with their notorious Celtic stubbornness and toughness. In a land where man had to fight for his piece of the pie and fight harder to keep it, "Paddy" was almost unbeatable. From the 19th century gang wars to the 20th century wars with the Italians, "Paddy" whacked their way to a mythical status. We trace the legacy of the Irish Mob, deeply rooted in the diabolical power trio of "Gangster, Politician, and Lawman" feeding and festering off one another.