Is “Kill the Irishman” Based on a True Story?

By Happy Last updated Jan 25, 2023

If you like to watch movies about gangsters, “Kill the Irishman” is one of the ones you have to see. The movie’s main character is played by Ray Stevenson, and Vincent D’Onofrio, Val Kilmer, and Christopher Walken play supporting roles.

It takes place in Cleveland in the 1970s and tells the story of a man named Danny Keene, who quickly rises through the ranks of the criminal world until he eventually falls. As we watch the movie, we can’t help but wonder if it’s based on a true story, just like when we watch other crime movies about gangsters. Here are some important facts about “Kill the Irishman.”

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Is Kill the Irishman Based on a True Story?

Yes, “Kill the Irishman” is based on the true story of an Irish-American gangster named Danny Greene. The book “To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia” by Rick Porrello is what the movie is based on. Before going into crime, Greene served in the US Marine Corps.

A year after being promoted to corporal, he was given an honorable discharge. Then, after working on the docks of Lake Erie, he got back on his feet as the president of the local International Longshoremen’s Union.

This job helped him build a name for himself, which later helped him join the mob. When he was charged with stealing more than $11,000 in union money, this part of his life came to an end quickly. Even though Greene had pleaded guilty and the case was eventually thrown out, he could not go back to being a union leader.

Alex Shondor Birns noticed him at the next stop on his journey, the Cleveland Trade Solid Waste Guild. He hired Greene to settle disagreements and get loans paid back.

Greene was also wanted by other local mob bosses as an enforcer, and he got involved with the Italian mob.

At last, he found his calling in car bombings, which were a common way to kill people at the time. Greene’s first mission didn’t go as planned, and an explosion made his right ear deaf. But he didn’t let this accident stop him from trying again.

In the end, Danny Greene was responsible for about 80% of the bombings that happened in Cleveland over the course of a decade. He also worked with Art Sneperger, who died in a bombing along with him. At the time, Sneperger was putting the bomb together for someone else.

The movie shows that Greene killed Sneperger when he found out that Sneperger had been working for the enemy. But there was never any proof that Greene was involved. Greene’s relationship with Birns began to get worse after he had made enough connections.

When they stopped talking to each other, Greene made his own group, which he called the Celtic Club. He was very proud of his Irish heritage, and people say he liked the color green. He made his office green and drove green cars, and these things, along with other things he did, gave him the name “The Irishman.”

He also got more and more violent about his territory. His fights with Birns got worse, and Birns was soon killed in a car bombing, too. Again, the movie shows a clear link between what happened to Greene and what happened to Birns, but in reality, it was just speculation.

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How Did Dany Greene Die?

As Greene became angrier and tried to move into the territory of others, he and the Italians got into a gang war. There were several attempts to kill him, including four car bombings that he just barely got away from.

Shown here is the Danny Greene murder scene in 1977. Source: @Cleveland_PL Digital Gallery. pic.twitter.com/Ihecn4Dc5J

— John Skrtic (@SkrticX) September 11, 2019

In one case, a rival member of the mob drove around to his house and started shooting at it. But Greene avoided all of these attacks and thanked his Irish luck for keeping him alive. But in 1977, he ran out of luck, and ironically, he died the same way he had killed many of his enemies. The mob bosses were getting more and more annoyed by his escapes and his growing fame in the city.

They tapped his phone to find out where he was and found out that he was going to the dentist. While Greene was inside getting his teeth checked, a bomb was put on his Chevy Nova in the parking lot. When he got into the car, the bomb went off by remote control, ending Danny Greene’s story at the age of 47.

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