According to English, it was in these organizations that some of the most prominent features of the Irish gangster, and the Irish in general for that matter, were formed, from their intense togetherness to their emphasis on secrecy and mistrust of outsiders. Starting out in Ireland, English places the history of the Irish-American gangster squarely in the larger context of Irish and American history, tracing the Irish Mob's roots all the way back to the anticolonial societies that sprung up to fight British rule in the Old Country. Patrick's day, this book should offer up some surprises, as much of what we associate with inner cities today (gangs, colors, drive-by shootings) had its roots at least partially in the Irish enclaves of the 19th and 20th centuries. If your view of the Irish is all shamrocks, leprechauns, and green beer on St. Paddy Whacked tells some highly unpleasant stories about Irish-American history, shedding light on inhuman poverty, ethnic and religious prejudice, violent gang wars, and large-scale political malfeasance, but that doesn't stop it from being mighty entertaining throughout, no matter what your background. English paints a vivid portrait of good old days that weren't always good, starting with the arrival of the first Irish immigrants after the potato famine of the 1840's and continuing through turbulent and violent times that saw the Irish emerge as a prominent force in the American criminal underworld as well as in American society as a whole.
English points out in Paddy Whacked, the Irish have one distiction that can never be taken away: they got there first. Tons of minority groups, white and otherwise-Blacks, Chinese, Russians, Armenians, Jews, and so on-have been involved in organized criminal activities to one degree or another, but as T.J. When it comes to organized crime in the U.S., the talk is generally "Mafia this, Mafia that," and while La Cosa Nostra has certainly caused its share of mayhem, it's hardly fair to ignore the contribution other groups have made to the history of the American underworld.
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