T.J. English didn’t quite know what to expect when he went up to Boston earlier this year to promote his eye-opening new book, Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster.
“Boston is the one place where this story is still a contemporary story, because of South Boston and the way Irish-American culture has been preserved in South Boston like no place else,” said English.
Boston, of course, is Whitey Bulger’s old stomping grounds. The man who remains one of the FBI’s most wanted has been on the run for years. But more than a handful of his old soldiers and associates remain in and around Boston. Then there is the perception that Irish Boston remains hostile to any and all outsiders, particularly those who are taking notes or have written books that name names.