The Cassidy Crew
Regan and Sloane Cassidy came to America in 1900, with their three sons Keiran (10), Cullen (7) and Desmond (5). Regan quickly got a job in a factory and while it was hard work for a time he and his wife Sloane were able to live peacefully.
In 1902 they had their first and only daughter Fallon who was much loved (and tortured) by her older brothers. But with this extra mouth to feed, and in general with growing boys the Cassidy house hold fell on harder times. As resources became scarcer and the boys larger Sloane found she needed to take up work as well.
This meant her three boys quickly entering adolescence had time on their hands and not the careful eye of a mother to guide them in the right direction. Stealing and getting into fights were easily taken up as pass times, and with three brothers to back each other up the Cassidy Crew quickly were known around the block as lads you didn’t want to mess with.
Fallon was watched after prudently by her brothers and while they never minded getting their own hands dirty or running from shop keepers ,Keiran, Desmond and Cullen were always vigilant to keep their delicate sister well out of harm’s way.
Quickly the Cassidy Crew became much more than a neighborhood gang, and with each new member adding to the ranks the Cassidy Boys found themselves to provide for their family tenfold what their hard working parents could ever dream.
Suddenly being a Cassidy meant much more than having two brothers to cover your back and a propensity for stealing. It meant knowing your family would be fed at night and warm in bed. That you had 10 brothers, not 2. Or 20. Or more. It meant being looked in the eye with respect (or fear) and not being spat upon for being an immigrant or speaking with an accent. It meant a better life, albeit a more violent one.
Skip forward to the start of World War I. With each Cassidy the right age to go to war but with a Crew to maintain Keiran stayed home while Desmond and Cullen enlisted. That was until 1917 when the Selective Service Act caught him up. It was lucky (and unlucky) that Cullen was sent home wounded and discharged of his service. While lame Cullen kept the Crew (what was left of it considering the war) in hand and an eye on his blossoming sister.
It’s always been said the Cassidy’s had more luck then was healthy for a single family to have, but that luck got all three brothers back to New York and back to the Crew. More or less in one piece. Cullen will forever limp and Keiran occasionally has the ‘dark moods’, but the Cassidy’s will prevail!
And with the start of Prohibition Prevail they did. You don’t take whiskey away from an Irishmen.
The Cassidy Crew has many fingers in many pots but they specialize in acquisition (theft) and distribution (drink).
Regan and Sloane Cassidy came to America in 1900, with their three sons Keiran (10), Cullen (7) and Desmond (5). Regan quickly got a job in a factory and while it was hard work for a time he and his wife Sloane were able to live peacefully.
In 1902 they had their first and only daughter Fallon who was much loved (and tortured) by her older brothers. But with this extra mouth to feed, and in general with growing boys the Cassidy house hold fell on harder times. As resources became scarcer and the boys larger Sloane found she needed to take up work as well.
This meant her three boys quickly entering adolescence had time on their hands and not the careful eye of a mother to guide them in the right direction. Stealing and getting into fights were easily taken up as pass times, and with three brothers to back each other up the Cassidy Crew quickly were known around the block as lads you didn’t want to mess with.
Fallon was watched after prudently by her brothers and while they never minded getting their own hands dirty or running from shop keepers ,Keiran, Desmond and Cullen were always vigilant to keep their delicate sister well out of harm’s way.
Quickly the Cassidy Crew became much more than a neighborhood gang, and with each new member adding to the ranks the Cassidy Boys found themselves to provide for their family tenfold what their hard working parents could ever dream.
Suddenly being a Cassidy meant much more than having two brothers to cover your back and a propensity for stealing. It meant knowing your family would be fed at night and warm in bed. That you had 10 brothers, not 2. Or 20. Or more. It meant being looked in the eye with respect (or fear) and not being spat upon for being an immigrant or speaking with an accent. It meant a better life, albeit a more violent one.
Skip forward to the start of World War I. With each Cassidy the right age to go to war but with a Crew to maintain Keiran stayed home while Desmond and Cullen enlisted. That was until 1917 when the Selective Service Act caught him up. It was lucky (and unlucky) that Cullen was sent home wounded and discharged of his service. While lame Cullen kept the Crew (what was left of it considering the war) in hand and an eye on his blossoming sister.
It’s always been said the Cassidy’s had more luck then was healthy for a single family to have, but that luck got all three brothers back to New York and back to the Crew. More or less in one piece. Cullen will forever limp and Keiran occasionally has the ‘dark moods’, but the Cassidy’s will prevail!
And with the start of Prohibition Prevail they did. You don’t take whiskey away from an Irishmen.
The Cassidy Crew has many fingers in many pots but they specialize in acquisition (theft) and distribution (drink).