Copyright theirishworld
By David Hennessy Andy Nolan launched his true crime book Green Bloods at the London Irish Centre recently. Andy Nolan is well known as a former member of The BibleCode Sundays. He currently plays with bands such as Two Canoes who played on the night. There was also entertainment from The Monday Club and Hungry Grass. Green Bloods is a true crime book about the Irish involvement in London’s criminal underworld. On the night of the launch, Joe O’Neill compered a chat with Andy as well as some of the subjects of his book Ryan O’Halloran, Bobby Cummines, Noel ‘Razor Smith’ and Ray Bishop. Subjects discussed included the anti- Irish sentiment and poverty that was common place when they were growing up up necessitating a move into crime. Andy Nolan told The Irish World: “It was amazing just to have all my friends and family in the one room, especially the participants of the book. To have many of them here. “Some of them couldn’t make it through illness unfortunately. “The Emmett family, big love and respect goes out to them. “But we had Noel Razor Smith here, Ray Bishop, Bobby Cummines, Ryan O’Halloran, Jimmy ‘The Danger’ Byrne. “All these guys are featured in Green Bloods. “It was amazing. It’s quite overwhelming. “It’s been a really hectic night signing books, playing in a few bands but all in the Irish Centre with the finest of friends and family.” Green Bloods has been a long time coming with Andy first starting work on it ten years ago. “It has been a long journey. “You get doubt in projects like this but here we are ten years later and it’s been worth it. “I have met some amazing people along the way and I wouldn’t change it for the world.” On his subjects Andy said: “A lot of people don’t like what they would call the glorification of crime but what I tried to explain in this book is that, especially for these Irish guys, second/ third generation guys, there was a reason why most of them got into crime. “A lot of it was to do with the No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish prejudice of the 50s and 60s, and they became very successful at their trade. “In another lifetime or situation, these guys could have been very successful businessmen and in fact, some of them went on to do that, invested their ill gotten gains into legitimate business and turned out okay.” Asked what is next and about possible follow ups, Andy said: “I will definitely follow this up. “My next book is about Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle. “I could actually write another book about London so we’ll see. “But I really need to get the all-encompassing cities of the rest of the UK because I’ve done so many interviews about that and these guys are onto me like, ‘Andy, when is it our turn? We want to be in this book’ so I owe it to them.” Andy concluded: “Thanks to the London Irish Centre for looking after us and everyone who came out to support me. “They’ve been on this journey with me all along and some of them seemed even more excited than I was. “I’ve worked really hard for it and just to see the joy in everyone’s faces and that fulfilment of happiness around the room was exactly how I wanted it to be. “A joyous occasion.” Criminal underworld figure Bobby Cummines has reformed and been awarded an OBE for his services to offenders. Bobby told The Irish World: “It’s just been a fantastic night and I’m pleased because now the truth about the Irish is coming out. “I’m proud to be part of it. “I’ve been welcomed so much. “I’m not a gangster. “I’m a businessman whose business was crime. “But we have a laugh and that’s one thing about the Irish people: They can laugh even in terrible circumstances. “But the warmth, the love, the respect. “I was born here but tonight I feel more Irish than anything. “It is beautiful.” Old attitudes towards the Irish and the ‘Paddy jokes’ came up in the Q and A. Bobby adds: “The paddy jokes, ‘You’re thick’ and all that. “Well you ask any bank manager who has met me, I weren’t that thick. I took his bank. “Irishmen are not lazy. “This book is the history of Irish people growing up in an English mixed race family or growing up in England and not knowing their own heritage. “I think this book is a must. “It’s got to be one of the best books ever written about Ireland. “It’s overdue because it’s opened up my eyes to it and I’ve met my own people. “I think we should be proud of our heritage. “I’m proud now I know about my ancestry and I know about the green blood.” On what united those he was onstage with Bobby said: “We’ve all gone through the same nightmares, been in prisons and gone and seen terrible things. “And we’ve learned how to be strong. “Some people survive. “Some people don’t. “But when you look at how many innocent people in prison like the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six (were framed), we have all been fitted up at one time by corrupt organizations and corrupt justice system. “I’m proud to be Irish.” Ryan O’Halloran, an actor, was there to represent his father ‘Longdog’ Danny O’Halloran, a career villain and East End gangster, a contemporary of the Great Train Robbers, a personal friend of Charlie Wilson and a mate of “Mad” Frankie Fraser. Ryan O’Halloran said: “I’m really pleased for Andy more than anyone. “I’m proud of coming from the East End but I’m also proud of my Irish roots. “It might seem bad that you’re associating crime with the Irish but isn’t crime associated with every single culture on the planet? “He nailed it. “He gave a lot of us a platform to talk about this. “I tip my hat to Andy what he’s done tonight and that’s one of the reasons I’m here.” Asked if his background informs his work as an actor Ryan said: “My dad, for all intents and purposes, was a gangster. “He hated that word. “He preferred career criminal. “But to turn something that could be negative for my family into something positive as a storyteller and an actor, we draw upon that. “I was able to go to that emotional draw playing certain characters. I was able to go, Well, I know this character, like let, “Has it informed me? Absolutely and it’s probably give me a head start on other actors.” Noel Razor Smith, once one of Britain’s most prolific armed robbers and now an author, said: “It feels fantastic really to be here. “I’ve known Andy for a number of years and he’s a great writer and to appear in that book is a great honour for me. “It’s a great book. “I think it’ll be a best seller especially in Ireland. “Delighted to be here and delighted to be Irish.” On why so many Irish turned to crime, Noel said: “The Irish have always been rebellious and there’s no more rebellious Irishmen than the Irishmen in a different country where they’re hated. “We made our own way. “We did our own thing and we didn’t look to the English for permission. “We did what we wanted to do and that’s the way it was. “My father was a proud Dublin man. “He died about two months ago and I only wish he’d been here tonight to see this.” On himself and his fellow panel members on the night Noel said: “The Irish criminals all flock together. “We all grew up in the same way. “Fortunately we’ve all turned our lives around and none of us are any longer criminals.” Ray Bishop was once an armed robber, drugs smuggler and people trafficker but turned his life around to have success as a boxer. Ray said: “It’s been lovely. “I always love coming to the Irish Centre in Camden. “It’s a real craic amongst my tribe and it’s been an absolute honour to be involved in some small way in Green Bloods. “I knew Andy Nolan was the right man to do it justice or I would not have taken part. “I knew Andy would do it justice and really capture the struggle, the poverty that a lot of our families endured when they first came here from Ireland, “Andy done it great justice. “I don’t want to play the blame game but the odds were stacked against us. “We were very much outcasts in our council estate amongst the English back then in the ‘70s. “The Irish families were viewed with disdain and distrust, and that included by the authorities. “I experienced that a little bit at school, but times have changed. “The Irish contributed so much to the English community and English way of life. “I mean the Irish built Great Britain.” Ray doesn’t put his getting involved in criminality down to his Irish upbringing but he does put how he has turned his life around and become a legitimate businessman down to his heritage. “Yes, the Irish upbringing was strict but I’ve got a great moral compass today. “Even though I lived that life, I was taught charity and all these things and that all comes from the Irish side of my family, to be a giver not a taker and I learned through my own mistakes. “Today I’m so far removed from that life I once lived and I attribute that to my Irish upbringing.” Green Bloods is available on Amazon. 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