Al Smith, the man who wanted to be president but helped build the Empire state building instead.
By John Joe McGinley As President Joe Biden whose ancestors hail from Ballina in Co Mayo and the Cooley Peninsula in Co …
Owney ‘the killer’ Madden – Irish bootlegger who became the hotelier for the mob.
By John Joe McGinley Owen Vincent Madden, who would later be known as Owney ‘The Killer’ Madden, was either the deadly …
Bill Dwyer -The King Of The Rum Runners
By John Joe McGinley Bill Dwyer was one of a number of Irish American figures to rise to prominence through organised …
Podcast: Irish Wise guys with John Joe McGinley
John Dorney speaks to author John Joe McGinely about the Irish American ‘mob’ or organised crime from the 19th century to the …
Vincent ‘Mad Dog’ Coll – The Gangster from Gweedore
By John Joe McGinley One of the most notorious Irish gangsters of the prohibition era was Vincent ‘Mad Dog’ Coll. A handsome …
The Wiggan’s Patch Massacre, Pennsylvania, 1875
The terrible murders of Charles O’Donnell and Ellen McAllister. By John Joe McGinley Early in the morning of December 10th, 1875, a …
Mother Jones: ‘the most dangerous Irish woman in America’
By John Joe McGinley Mary Harris Jones, a proud Cork woman, was a teacher, seamstress, labour activist and union organiser. A champion …