The Complicated Legacy Of Notorious Irish Gangster Martin “The General” Cahill
Born into poverty in the slums of Dublin, Martin Cahill with the help of his brothers would rise through the ranks of the Irish criminal underworld to make a name for himself, leaving a lasting legacy
Published in
8 min readMar 1, 2024
This article originally appeared on the true crime newsletter Tales From the Underworld. Subscribe for new and exclusive historical true crime content.
Background
Martin “The General” Cahill, a name that resonates in the halls of Irish criminal history, was a figure shrouded in mystery and notoriety. Born into the harsh realities of Dublin’s slum districts on May 23, 1949, Cahill rose from humble beginnings to become one of Ireland’s most infamous crime bosses.
His criminal career, marked by a series of daring burglaries and armed robberies, captured the public’s imagination and invoked the ire of law enforcement. Operating with a cunning that earned him the media nickname “The General,” Cahill was a mastermind in evading capture, famously shielding his identity from the media with a splayed hand.
