John ‘Old Smoke’ Morrissey the man who ordered the death of Bill ‘the Butcher’ Poole.
By John Joe McGinley One of the most famous characters who inhabited the violent landscape of the Five Points Irish enclave …
Thomas D’Arcy McGee – The Irish revolutionary who was one of the fathers of the Canadian Confederation
By John Joe McGinley Thomas D’Arcy McGee was a journalist, author, poet, politician and Irish revolutionary, who is now recognised as one …
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 …