History Main / TheIrishMob

* In the second season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', Irish mobsters were behind a scam that replaced actual cancer medication with placebos. The titular AxeCrazy spy proceeds to go on a "''[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge rampage!]]''" to make them pay.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}: The Irish mob is mentioned in the 4th Edition sourcebook ''Crime'', but they're noted as being pretty weak compared to other organizations like TheMafia or especially the {{Yakuza}} and TheTriadsAndTheTongs.

** ''Batman & Two-Face'' features the [=McKillen=] family as having been Harvey's ''bete noir'' when he was DA. Erin [=McKillen=] replaces Sal Moroni as the person who scarred him.

* The Chicago South Club are the ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' universe's equivalent of the Chicago Outfit, except Irish and more powerful. Not a coincidence, either; the Club was formed following the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from an alliance of all of Chicago's Prohibition-era Irish gangs to match the threat posed by the Outfit, whom they eventually defeated and absorbed. They are also far more sinister and influential than most examples of this trope as they not only control the city of Chicago through their [[PuppetKing puppet]] Mayor Donovan Rushmore but run an extensive [[HumanTraffickers human trafficking operation]] that kidnaps young women from America and Europe.

* The Westies are a New York City-based Irish-American gang. Though they never exceeded more than twenty or so members, it is believed they are responsible for up to 60-100 murders between the '60s and '80s, largely as a murder-for-hire group for Italian Mobsters such as the Gambinos.

Boston is especially associated with the Irish Mob, but, as noted above they can turn up anywhere. Notably in recent years, it's become increasingly popular to set a work with the Irish Mob in Ireland itself.

The Mob originated in the early 19th century and -- until the rise of the [[TheMafia Italian]] and [[KosherNostra Jewish gangs]] in the 1880s and later -- was the dominating force in New York organized crime. During [[TheTwenties The 20s']], the Mob was a major player and many gangster movies featured Irish gangsters -- famously Creator/JamesCagney made a career out of playing them, starting with ''Film/ThePublicEnemy''. Nevertheless, the Irish Mob waned after these years, struggling under competition with the Italian gangs and their own leadership struggles. They also slowly became less necessary: the Irish communities in America and Great Britain gradually assimilated and no longer needed gangs to protect them from disgruntled locals (because they ''were'' the disgruntled locals). Not that they ever went away--both in reality and in fiction the Mob has maintained a presence to this day, especially in [[{{Southies}} South Boston]].

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The Mob originated in the early 19th century and -- until the rise of the [[TheMafia Italian]] and [[KosherNostra Jewish gangs]] in the 1880s and later -- was the dominating force in New York organized crime. During the Twenties the Mob was a major player and many of the first flush of gangster movies featured Irish gangsters -- famously Creator/JamesCagney made a career out of playing them, starting with ''The Public Enemy'' (1931). Nevertheless the Irish Mob waned after these years, struggling under competition with the Italian gangs and their own leadership struggles. They also slowly became less necessary: the Irish communities in America and Great Britain gradually assimilated and no longer needed gangs to protect them from disgruntled locals (because they ''were'' the disgruntled locals). Not that they ever went away--both in reality and in fiction the Mob has maintained a presence to this day, especially in [[{{Southies}} South Boston]].

* The [=McReary=] Crime Family from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' is rare modern variant of the classic Irish-American mob and {{Deconstruction}}, since the game takes place in late [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]]. The family is an Irish-American criminal organization heavily inspired by the real-life Irish-American [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westies Westies]]. The family was once a powerful force in Liberty City with their base of operations in Purgatory (based on Hell's Kitchen), but the increase of national security, combined with [[TheMafiya new criminal organizations taking over territories]], the family was losing influence, becoming a shadow of what it once was.

* The [=McReary=] Crime Family from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' is rare modern variant of the classic Irish-American mob and {{Deconstruction}}, since the game takes place in late [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]]. The [=McReary=] Crime family is an Irish-American criminal organization heavily inspired by the real-life Irish-American [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westies Westies]]. The family was once a powerful force in Liberty City with their base of operations in Purgatory (based on Hell's Kitchen), but the increase of national security, combined with [[TheMafiya new criminal organizations taking over territories]], the family was losing influence, becoming a shadow of what it once was.

* Packie, Derrick, and Gerry [=McReary=], along with their associate, Michael Keane in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' are gangsters from a family past its glory days. Their BlackSheep other brother Francis is [[OfficerOHara deputy police commissioner]], but [[DirtyCop just as dirty]] as, if not worse than, they are. [[spoiler:Francis's last mission for Niko is to kill Derrick because he feels threatened by what Derrick knows about him. Derrick, in turn, tells Niko to kill Francis. Francis attempts to [[EvilPaysBetter sweeten the deal]] by offering you up to $20000 and later, using his connections to clear your WantedMeter on demand.]]

The Mob originated in the early 19th century and--until the rise of the [[TheMafia Italian]] and [[KosherNostra Jewish gangs]] in the 1880's and later--was the dominating force in New York organized crime. During the Twenties the Mob was a major player and many of the first flush of gangster movies featured Irish gangsters--famously Creator/JamesCagney made a career out of playing them, starting with ''The Public Enemy'' (1931). Nevertheless the Irish Mob waned after these years, struggling under competition with the Italian gangs and their own leadership struggles. They also slowly became less necessary: the Irish communities in America and Great Britain gradually assimilated and no longer needed gangs to protect them from disgruntled locals (because they ''were'' the disgruntled locals). Not that they ever went away--both in reality and in fiction the Mob has maintained a presence to this day, especially in [[{{Southies}} South Boston]].

The Irish Mob is often depicted as more anarchic and [[LowerClassLout "casual"]] than TheMafia, preferring shabby pubs, flat-caps and t-shirts to Italian restaurants, fedoras and two-piece suits. This also has some basis in reality, as one reason why the FBI had such a hard time running down James “Whitey” Bulger’s infamous Winter Hill gang was that, unlike the Mafia, with its well-defined hierarchy and chain of command, the structure of Bulger’s gang was much more fluid, with incarcerated/dead members very easily replaced and operations easily moved or abandoned on short notice.

** While ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' mostly involves the Italian Mafia, a quartet of Irish gangsters--employed by Carmine Falcone--appear in one chapter.

* Nearly all the criminals in ''Film/TheDeparted''. Creator/JackNicholson's character Frank Costello was partially based on real life Irish-American gangster James "Whitey" Bulger.

* ''Film/BlackMass'' tells the real life story of Whitey Bulger, the Irish Mob kingpin of Boston. These characters feel their ethnic identity deeply, running guns to the Irish Republican Army when they aren't committing murders in Massachusetts.
* Creator/MartinScorsese's ''Film/TheIrishman'', about Frank Sheeran, an Irish-American hitman for the Italian-American mob, and especially about his role in the disappearance of his old friend Jimmy Hoffa. Aside from the main character's ethnicity and criminal background however, the film has nothing to do with the Irish Mob, but it nevertheless counts, as the main character is Irish-American and is a gangster.

* The Robert B. Parker character {{Literature/Sunny Randall}} married into an Irish Mob family, and even though she and Richie (the WhiteSheep of this particularly family) are divorced now, several members of the family are still fond of her and offer to help out if she needs it.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Spooks}}'' featured an American-Irish mobster and IRA weapons dealer who helped MI-5 prevent a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant, because the fallout would hit Ireland as well.

** Season 2 starts when Nelson & Murdock get drawn into the crossfire of a conflict between Frank Castle and the Kitchen Irish, who are seeking to move back in to Hell's Kitchen now that Wilson Fisk is in prison. The Kitchen Irish head even does a rousing speech to his men about how their people used to own the town until they lost their edge enough for Fisk to move in.

* A subplot in ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld'' involves Roy [=MacManus=], the local Irish gang boss, dealing with his unrequired crush on UsefulNotes/AlCapone's sister Edna and his efforts to take over Chicago and Las Vegas after Capone was sent to [[TheAlcatraz Alcatraz]].

* ''VideoGame/MafiaIII'' has Thomas Burke as the Irish mob representative of Lincoln's organization. If he's either the sole survivor or just has the most power if Lincoln decides to leave town, they take over New Bordeaux until Burke's death in the 80s.

* "Whitey" Bulger, mentioned more than once above, is the most famous Irish gangster. He operated drug dealing and gun smuggling rackets out of Boston, and also spent 19 years as a U.S. government informant against rival Italian gangs (notably the Patriarca crime family) before going into hiding for 16 years as one of America's 10 Most Wanted felons. They only caught up with him in 2011 and convicted him in August of 2013 for racketeering and 11 murders. He was ultimately murdered in prison in 2018. (For an account of what life was like in Boston in the neighborhoods he dominated, see ''Literature/AllSouls''.)
* The Westies are a New York City-based Irish-American gang. Though they never exceeded more than twenty or so members, it is believed they are responsible for up to 60-100 murders between the 60's and 80's, largely as a murder-for-hire group for Italian Mobsters such as the Gambinos.
* The Clerkenwell crime syndicate (also known as the A-Team or the Adams Family) is/was a London based mob run by three Irish Catholic brothers (Terry, Tommy and Patrick Adams). At their peak in the 90's they were one of the most powerful criminal organisations in the UK, were linked with 25 murders and amassed a fortune estimated at £200 million.

** Infamous Irish gangland criminals have included the likes of Martin "The General" Cahill, John Gilligan and "Fat" Freddie Thompson. Guerin's employers at the time of her death, ''The Sunday World'', fill their issues heavily with gang-related stories.

* The infamous Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, while now more of a mix between WhiteGangBangers and ThoseWackyNazis, originated as a gang of Irish-American bikers called The Bluebird Gang in the late 1950's and early 1960's before becoming the Aryan Brotherhood proper. These origins are reflected in their use of Shamrock tattoos to identify themselves.

* The Chicago South Club are the ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' universe's equivalent of the Chicago Outfit, except Irish and more powerful. Not a coincidence, either; the Club was formed following the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from an alliance of all of Chicago's Prohibition-era Irish gangs to match the threat posed by the Outfit, whom they eventually defeated and absorbed. They are also far more sinister and influential than most of the examples of the trope as they not only control the city of Chicago through their [[PuppetKing puppet]] Mayor Donovan Rushmore but they run an extensive [[HumanTraffickers human trafficking operation]] that kidnaps young women from America and Europe.

* The Chicago South Club are the ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' universe's equivalent of the Chicago Outfit, except Irish and more powerful. Not a coincidence, either; the Club was formed following the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from an alliance of all of Chicago's Prohibition-era Irish gangs to match the threat posed by the Outfit, whom they eventually defeated and absorbed. They are also far more sinister and influential than most of the examples of the trope as they not only control the city of Chicago through [[PuppetKing Mayor Donovan Rushmore]] but they run an extensive [[HumanTraffickers human trafficking operation]] that kidnaps young women from American and Europe.

* The Chicago South Club are the ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' universe's equivalent of the Chicago Outfit, except Irish and more powerful. Not a coincidence, either; the Club was formed following the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from an alliance of all of Chicago's Prohibition-era Irish gangs to match the threat posed by the Outfit, whom they eventually defeated and absorbed. They are also far more sinister and influential than most of the examples of the trope as they not only control the city of Chicago through their puppet Mayor Donovan Rushmore but they run an extensive [[HumanTraffickers human trafficking operation]] that kidnaps young women from American and Europe.

* VideoGame/MafiaIII has Thomas Burke as the Irish mob representative of Lincoln's organization. If he's either the sole survivor or just has the most power if Lincoln decides to leave town, they take over New Bordeaux until Burke's death in the 80s.
* The Chicago South Club are the ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' universe's equivalent of the Chicago Outfit, except Irish and more powerful. Not a coincidence, either; the Club was formed following the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from an alliance of all of Chicago's Prohibition-era Irish gangs to match the threat posed by the Outfit, whom they eventually defeated and absorbed. They are also far more sinister and influential than most of the examples of the trope as they not only control the city of Chicago through their puppet Mayor Donovan Rushmore but they run an extensive [[HumanTraffickerds human trafficking operation]] that kidnaps young women from American and Europe.

* The Chicago South Club are the ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' universe's equivalent of the Chicago Outfit, except Irish and more powerful. Not a coincidence, either; the Club was formed following the St. Valentine's Day Massacre from an alliance of all of Chicago's Prohibition-era Irish gangs to match the threat posed by the Outfit, whom they eventually defeated and absorbed.

** They're also one part of the BigBadDuumvirate in the ''Jimmy's Vendetta'' DownloadableContent campaign.

* In ''Literature/TheGodfather'', the Corleone crime family is sometimes called 'the Irish Gang' because Vito's ''consigliere'' is the half-Irish half-German Tom Hagen. TheIrishMob proper is mentioned in passing as a group of 'mad dog Irish stick up artists' the Corleone's warred with during the Depression. They actually came within an inch of killing Vito, managing to shoot him (non-fatally obviously), which is better than Al Capone's gunmen managed.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' has the American-Irish politician-turned-bootlegger-slash-gangster Nucky Thompson as its main character. Parts of the show depict the conflict between the local Irish gangs of Chicago and the Italian outfit led by Torrio and Al Capone. It also goes into the relationship between Irish Republicans and Irish-American gangsters with one of Nucky's lieutenants being a former IRA enforcer/bomber who decided to settle in America.

* You can find holotapes in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' by or relating to Irish mobster Eddie Winter, a sociopathic bastard who was busy fixing up relationships with [[TheMafia the Italian Mafia]] so they could divide Boston between them... before [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the bombs fell and made the whole matter moot]]. [[spoiler:Turns out he survived the past two hundred years as a ghoul (in fact, he was the ''very first'' ghoul, having cut a deal with a MadScientist at MIT to be a test subject for experimental radiation therapy), and Nick Valentine has some [[ItsPersonal business]] to settle with him.]] like Costello in ''Film/TheDeparted'', Winter is heavily based on real-life Boston Irish Mob boss and FBI's-most-wanted James "Whitey" Bulger.

* ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' (which is rather similar to ''Boardwalk Empire'') features a family of half-Irish, half-UsefulNotes/{{Roma}} gangsters and their rise to power in 1920s Birmingham. They also face a number of Irish criminals and also elements from both sides of the political conflict in Ireland at that time.

* The organized crime in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'''s Megaton is led by Moriarty, who has a strong [[{{Oireland}} Oirish]] accent. [[spoiler:If you hack his computer, you find out he is faking it because he thinks it will make him more likable.]] The Irish gang that is Reilly's Rangers, on the other hand, is not so much into crime.

* [[TheMafia Vito Scaletta]] has frequent run-ins with an AxeCrazy Irish gang in ''VideoGame/MafiaII''.

* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' has LawrenceTierney as Joe Cabot, an Irish Mob boss who organizes the Dogs.