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Possibly nothing but...
Attempting to find some link between John McCarthy and East End gangs, I've found a reference to an incident at the Black Bull pub in 1902, where a John McCarthy wounded a street bookie named Meyer Edgar. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...ull%22&f=false
This John McCarthy according to the same source was 27 in 1908 (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...ers%22&f=false) and was the leader of a gang called the Watney Streeters. If this is true he would have been about 21 in 1902, where he is described as the leader of the Watney Streeters. I find a 21 year old gang leader scarcely plausible.
He seems to have lived off of Watney Street, so no real connection to the Dorset Street McCarthy seems forthcoming.
The Watney Streeters appear to have been active by 1902 and continued to be active until around the time of the Krays and Richardson gang (George Cornell of the Richardson and later the Kray gang had previously been a Watney Streeter, according to Wikipedia).
Meyer Edgar, the street bookie, apparently ran a billiard hall at the back of the Black Bull where unlicensed boxing matches were held. So, there is a possible link to boxing, which we know our Dorset Street McCarthy was also involved in. Could there have been boxing at the Black Bull as early as 1888? Could there have been a boxing match at the Black Bull on the night of 30th of August, 1888?
As it turns out, the Black Bull was one of the pubs close to Buck's Row site where Polly Nichols' body was found.
The mention of boxing, gang violence, boxing and 'John McCarthy' all in a proximity of Buck's Row was pretty intriguing. Personally, I'd been trying to find a pub with a clear gang connection in the proximity of Buck's Row for a while, so maybe just maybe I have found it.
Attempting to find some link between John McCarthy and East End gangs, I've found a reference to an incident at the Black Bull pub in 1902, where a John McCarthy wounded a street bookie named Meyer Edgar. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...ull%22&f=false
This John McCarthy according to the same source was 27 in 1908 (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...ers%22&f=false) and was the leader of a gang called the Watney Streeters. If this is true he would have been about 21 in 1902, where he is described as the leader of the Watney Streeters. I find a 21 year old gang leader scarcely plausible.
He seems to have lived off of Watney Street, so no real connection to the Dorset Street McCarthy seems forthcoming.
The Watney Streeters appear to have been active by 1902 and continued to be active until around the time of the Krays and Richardson gang (George Cornell of the Richardson and later the Kray gang had previously been a Watney Streeter, according to Wikipedia).
Meyer Edgar, the street bookie, apparently ran a billiard hall at the back of the Black Bull where unlicensed boxing matches were held. So, there is a possible link to boxing, which we know our Dorset Street McCarthy was also involved in. Could there have been boxing at the Black Bull as early as 1888? Could there have been a boxing match at the Black Bull on the night of 30th of August, 1888?
As it turns out, the Black Bull was one of the pubs close to Buck's Row site where Polly Nichols' body was found.
The mention of boxing, gang violence, boxing and 'John McCarthy' all in a proximity of Buck's Row was pretty intriguing. Personally, I'd been trying to find a pub with a clear gang connection in the proximity of Buck's Row for a while, so maybe just maybe I have found it.
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