The Kerryonians were the second oldest criminal street gang in

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but may have been the first gang in the city. The members were made up of recent Irish immigrants from

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

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. There was also a 19th-century

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gang of the same name. Beginning in the 1820s, the Kerryonians were part of the first wave of the early New York gangs, following behind the first and oldest gang in the city, the Forty Thieves, to occupy the Five Points area. The Kerryonians were particularly fond of targeting New Yorkers who were of British descent. The Kerryonians also fought a gang named the " Pelters".George Edward Lowen, ''History of the 71st Regiment, N. G., N. Y., American Guard'' New York: Veterans association, 71st regiment, N. G., N. Y., 1919 They are most known however for disrupting British actor

William Charles Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English stage actor. The son of Irish actor-manager William Macready the Elder he emerged as a leading West End theatre, West End performer during the Regency era. Career Macready wa ...

's performance at

Astor Place Astor Place is a street in NoHo/ East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is divided into two sections: One segment runs from Broadway in the west (just below East 8th Street) to Lafayette Street, an ...

around 1825. The Kerryonians were eventually absorbed into the growing street gangs of Five Points such as the Dead Rabbits, Roach Guards, and Chichesters.

References

* Asbury, Herbert ''The Gangs of New York: A History of the New York Underworld''. New York. 1928. *Ellis, Edward Robb. ''The Epic of New York City: A Narrative History''. New York: Basic Books, 2011. ;Specific

External links

{{Organized crime groups in New York City Former gangs in New York City Irish-American gangs Irish-American culture in New York City