Colm O'Driscoll (1845-1899) was an Irish-American outlaw who led the O'Driscoll Boys gang of the American West during the late 19th century. He was bitter rivals with Dutch van der Linde after they killed each other's loved ones (Colm's brother and Dutch's lover), and he was ultimately captured by the law in 1899 and publicly hanged in New Orleans.
Biography[]
Colm O'Driscoll was born in Ireland in 1845, and he emigrated to the United States at a young age and settled on the frontier of the American West. He became an infamous outlaw, forming the "O'Driscoll Boys" gang and terrorizing the Western states of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. Colm showed no regard for the lives of his men, instead hiring anyone who wanted to join an outlaw gang, and - while Colm was not particularly connected to his heritage (using the American pronunciation of his first name) - he hired several Irish immigrants or Irish-Americans as gang members. He had a loose partnership with Dutch van der Linde before Dutch killed Colm's brother in a dispute, causing a rivalry between the two men. While Colm was not fond of his brother, he avenged his death by killing Dutch's lover Annabelle, and the O'Driscoll Boys and the Van der Linde Gang became bitter enemies. In 1899, several of Colm's men were killed in a shootout with Dutch's gang in Colter, Wyoming, and Dutch and his men proceeded to rob Leviticus Cornwall's train before Colm and his men could do so. Later, Colm reached out to Dutch through Simon Pearson and arranged for peace talks in the Great Plains, luring Dutch into a trap. He had Dutch's lieutenant Arthur Morgan knocked out and captured as he watched the meeting with a sniper rifle, while Colm stalled with Dutch and recounted their past rivalry. Eventually, the two sides drew off, and Colm had Arthur taken to Lone Mule Stead in Colorado, where he had Arthur tortured and revealed to him that he was counting on Dutch to launch a rescue mission, upon which the O'Driscolls would ambush and capture Dutch and his men and turn them in to the Pinkertons. However, Morgan escaped after his second attempt, foiling O'Driscoll's plans. Instead, O'Driscoll got into trouble after sleeping with a disloyal and loud-mouthed woman, who tipped off the authorities about O'Driscoll's location. O'Driscoll was arrested during a routine coach inspection and hanged in New Orleans as Dutch and Morgan - disguised as policemen - watched, having killed his rescue team. Tom McCartan briefly served as the gang's leader until the gang was wiped out at the Hanging Dog Ranch shootout.