The Kerryonians were an early-19th-century New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 street gang made up mostly of recent Irish immigrants from County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. One of the first gangs, along with the 40 Thieves, to occupy the Five Points

Five Points, Manhattan

Five Points was a neighborhood in central lower Manhattan in New York City. The neighborhood was generally defined as being bound by Centre Street in the west, The Bowery in the east, Canal Street in the north and Park Row in the south...

 area, the Kerryonians particularly targeted those of British descent. They are most known however for disrupting British actor William Charles Macready

William Charles Macready

-Life:He was born in London, and educated at Rugby.It was his intention to go up to Oxford, but in 1809 the embarrassed affairs of his father, the lessee of several provincial theatres, called him to share the responsibilities of theatrical management. On 7 June 1810 he made a successful first...

's performance at Astor Place around 1825. The Kerryonians were eventually absorbed into the growing street gangs of Five Points such as the Dead Rabbits

Dead Rabbits

The Dead Rabbits were a gang in New York City in the 1850s, and originally were a part of the Roach Guards. Daniel Cassidy claimed that the name has a second meaning rooted in Irish American vernacular of NYC in 1857 and that the word "Rabbit" is the phonetic corruption of the Irish word ráibéad,...

, Roach Guards

Roach Guards

The Roach Guards were an Irish street gang in New York City's Five Points neighborhood during the early 19th century. Originally formed to protect New York liquor merchants in Five Points, the gang soon began committing robbery and murder....

, and Chichesters

Chichesters

The Chichesters were an early Five Points street gang during the mid 19th century in New York. The gang began stealing from stores and warehouses and selling the stolen goods to local fences in 1820s, later becoming involved in illegal gambling and robbery...

.

Further reading

• Herbert Asbury
  Herbert Asbury
  Herbert Asbury was an American journalist and writer who is best known for his true crime books detailing crime during the 19th and early 20th century such as Gem of the Prairie, Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld and The Gangs of New York...
  
  , The Gangs of New York, New York, 1928 ISBN 1-56025-275-8