Dylan Leary

"*Boys, listen up! This is Mr. Byron Mercer. He may not be Irish, but he's a friend of the working man. And how do I know this, you wonder? Because Mr. Mercer will be using Irish labor to lay the cable car track in San Francisco. This is not the fucking railroad. This is our city. And we're not gonna let the chinks build it. This man is a patriot, and with patriots like him doing the right thing, we're gonna take back our jobs. We're gonna take back our city!*"
—Leary to his crew[src]
**Dylan Leary** is an American Civil War veteran, labor unionist and leader of the Irish Mob. He blames the Chinese for taking away jobs that he believes belong to the Irish and has worked diligently to forge alliances with politicians with similar views as his own to further his goal, as well as bomb local businesses who would oppose him. In hopes to extend his reach, Leary has now founded The Workingmen's Party of California.

## Biography

### Early life

Leary is an Irishman who fought in the American Civil War to free the slaves. More than eight years ago, Leary's wife, Rose, and their two sons, Ian and Daniel, died from smallpox. They had just moved out to San Francisco from New York when it spread.

### Interfering in Ah Sahm's trial

Leary is present in the courtroom and watches in disgust as Officer Lee announces that he's prepared to take the stand against the two Irish thugs who killed a couple Chinese labor men. Later, while getting drunk at the Banshee, Leary recalls his time at war. He and 150,000 other Irishmen fought Lincoln's war against other Americans and Irishmen, but they won and freed the slaves, who instead of going back to Africa, came north and took their jobs. And now the Chinese are coming to take their jobs as well. Leary refuses to lose his home after fighting so hard for it, and is willing to go to war over it. No matter what, he declares, "The Chinese must go!"

Leary bails out the two Irish thugs who were arrested after killing a couple Chinese labor men. He informs them that their bond was $15 apiece and advises them against any plans to run. For the time being, they need to simply stay out of the way while he handles Officer Lee. Leary then pays Bill off to ensure that Lee doesn't show up in court. Afterward, Leary hosts a one-on-one brawl just outside the Banshee, where he takes on any and all competitors. He is undefeated and remains so after brutally beating a man into unconsciousness.

After learning that Morgan and Davis were killed by a swordsman, Leary demands that Bill find the killers, as he refuses to allow this to go unanswered. With Morgan and Davis dead, they can no longer stand trial, meaning Leary would like his money back, but Bill has already gambled it away. So, Leary intends to have Bill work off what he owes instead.

Leary interrupts Byron Mercer's breakfast after learning that he's been assured exclusive city contracts to lay tracks for the new cable car lines. When construction begins, Byron will be in need of a small army of workers, approximately 100 laborers, and he agrees to hire on Leary's recommendations, and in return, he'll help keep salaries manageable.

Leary approaches Bill after Ah Sahm arraigned, as he is accused of being the swordsman. He seeks to skip trial and fast track to Ah Sahm's sentencing, which consists of Bill sneaking a few of Leary's thugs inside the cell with Ah Sahm. However, the plan doesn't go as intended, as Ah Sahm defeats his attackers. He questions how one man managed to best all three of them and threatens to leave them in the cell, but ultimately has Bill release them. Bill hopes that this makes him and Leary even, but Leary reminds Bill that he has bigger concerns in regard to Ah Sahm, who's made a fool of the precinct.

Leary pays a visit to the O'Sheas after they failed to show up in court and the charges against Ah Sahm were dismissed. Seamus explains that Mai Ling showed up at his home and threatened to slaughter his family. Leary exclaims that Seamus should've come to him, but because he didn't, Ah Sahm walked free. Because of this, Leary sets Seamus' house on fire in retaliation, forcing the O'Sheas to flee as Leary warns him to take his family and leave San Francisco.

### Fighting Jack Damon

Leary learns that Bill owes Jack Damon some money, and Bill asks Leary to speak with Damon in hopes that he can get an extension. However, Leary refuses to vouch for Bill, as he's a bad bet. Although, when he reveals that Damon is working for the Fung Hai casino, Leary reconsiders. He offers to pay off Bill's debt, but only if Damon accepts a fight in the ring, which he does. They head out back to the ring, where they exchange blows. However, Damon is no match for Leary, who beats him mercilessly. He beats Damon within an inch of his life and then tosses Bill Damon's cane to finish him off. Bill is reluctant, but in fear that Damon would retaliate should he be given the chance to heal, Bill bashes Damon's head in with his own cane.

### A deal with Mercer Steel

Leary is struggling to keep his people together, as there hasn't been work for weeks. He's keeping them fed with bread and is offering some of them what little money he has. As a cart of coolies comes passing by, the Irishmen begin pelting them with rocks, blaming the Chinese for their misfortune. Later that week, Mercer honors his deal with Leary and arrives outside the Banshee with good news. He reports to Leary that they begin excavation on the cable car track immediately. Leary introduces Mercer to the crew and informs them that he will be using Irish labor to lay the cable car track. With people like Mercer at their side, they're going to take back their jobs and city.

Leary enters the Banshee to find Mac hassling a couple black men who simply stopped by for a drink. He reminds Mac that these two men have done nothing to him and that everything has been done to them. They were dragged to America in chains and have paid their dues, and as far as Leary is concerned, they've paid their drinks as well. Leary then notices one of the guys from the Mercer job, who informs him that they've been fired in exchange for cheap Chinese labor.

Leary confronts Mercer after learning that he's employed Chinese labor. He made promises based on Mercer's promises, and now Mercer's made a liar out of him, but Byron reveals that the mayor's office kept grinding him until he had no choice. Leary warns Mercer to fix this and reminds him that they shook hands.

After paying Buckley a visit, during which he threatened Buckley with a knife, Leary, armed with rifles and blunt weapons, leads an Irish band of thugs into Mercer's building and begins attacking Coolies. When Mercer notices the attack, he locks himself in his office. Leary and his men have lined up a dozen or so coolies and begin smashing their fingers with a steel hammer. The entire ordeal causes him to have a heart attack and die on the floor of his office. Ah Sahm arrives just in time to stop the Irish thugs from harming any more laborers than they already have. After single-handedly taking down all of Leary's men, Ah Sahm and Leary come face to face. They exchange blows but disperse when the police arrive.

### Meeting Sophie

While visiting his dead wife and two kids, who he lost to smallpox eight years ago, Leary meets Sophie, who leaves a couple flowers. She often comes to spread flowers out around the other graves. Leary is amused when a supposed proper lady such as Sophie proceeds to swear, but she retorts that she never said she was proper.

Leary has come to collect dues from the men he got hired at the lumber job last week. Today, they're the fortunate ones, but not everyone can say the same. And so, all the men at the table put some money into Leary's hat. Leary then heads to his office, where he purchases a shipment of TNT. And during the late hours of the night, Leary sets the explosives off and blows up a local business.

Leary attends Senator Crestwood's speech, which he seems to be pleased with. He then heads back into the Banshee, with Sophie following behind him. She reveals her father was Byron Mercer and then walks over to the piano to play a few notes. Leary is impressed, but she's sloppy and she knows it.

Leary and Sophie share their first kiss after she discovers his plan to bomb all the factories that hire coolie labor. Sophie suspects that Leary's plan is simply to keep blowing up factories until they stop hiring coolie labor. However, if Leary wants lasting change then he has to be in the room where it happens, like city hall and the state senate. She asks if Leary is ever sorry he came to America. While there's a ways to go, he believes that it's still better than his homeland. People come from all over the world for a better life, but all Sophie has ever wanted was to escape. Leary is a bit angered by her privilege, as she has nothing to complain about. He's seen whole villages wiped out by famine. He tries to walk away, but Sophie grabs his hand and they proceed down the road.

### Bombing Mercer Steele

After a night of fighting and sex, Leary brings Sophie breakfast, and she asks why he hasn't targeted her sister's factory, to which Leary replies that Penny has the Hop Wei guarding Mercer Steel, which leads Leary to go and instigate an altercation with Ah Sahm. Leary explains that it doesn't matter what fancy suits they wear or even if they can speak English, they don't belong in America and never will. Leary blames Ah Sahm for taking their jobs, to which Ah Sahm retorts that maybe Leary should ask his own people why they keep choosing the Chinese over the Irish if the latter are so American, fearlessly challenging him to make a move. Leary declares their business from earlier is unfinished, but uncharacteristically shows respect to the Chinaman by asking for and referring to him by his name as opposed to an ethnic slur. Ah Sahm readily tells the Irishman to find him when he's ready, the latter departing with his men.

Leary receives help from Sophie, who reveals to him that there's a back entrance to her father's factory. It's a small supply tunnel that no one knows about. Sophie wants to make their move now, but Leary is both reluctant and hesitant, telling Sophie that turning against her own people isn't a small thing. However, he relents and Sophie takes Leary through the tunnels. She used to play in the tunnels as a girl, but her father hated it. There's a staircase that leads up to the storeroom just off the factory floor. Leary and a couple of the workingmen begin to set up the dynamite but are discovered by a couple Hop Wei hatchet men. Sophie is struck and Leary is sliced in the neck during the exchange, but he and Sophie manage to escape otherwise unharmed, but not before setting the dynamite and blowing up Mercer Steel.

Leary is approached by Chief Flannagan over the firebombing of Mercer Steel, though Leary claims to have had no involvement. Flannagan warns him against any further bombings, but Leary insists that he knows nothing. Leary isn't intimidated and tells Flannagan that his people at City Hall created this mess by starving their own citizens in order to line the pockets of friends and relatives. Now those citizens are fighting back and it's out of Leary's hands. If things worsen, the city will burn.

Leary confronts Bill after Zing is convicted of murder, as he heard a rumor that Bill was working for the Fung Hai, which he insists isn't true. And as the Mayor thanks Bill and the Chinatown Squad for bringing the swordsman to justice, Leary is approached by Buckley, who remarks that Leary is starting to make more regular appearances and advises Leary to reconsider his methods, as he has amassed a large enough base to have real influence, but arson and brute force will only get him so far. The mayor and president both need votes, which Leary can give.

Leary remains undefeated after winning yet another boxing match outside the Banshee. After the fight, he joins Sophie inside for the first time since the bombing. Neither we're sure that Sophie would return, but she simply can't walk away, though she has regrets about the bombing. She asks if he ever gets tired of all the violence, to which he replies that it's the only way things get done. Leary recalls Buckley saying he could have political influence, which Sophie agrees, considering he'd be able to swing the entire Irish vote. Leary doesn't trust politicians, to which Sophie replies that he doesn't have to trust them if he owns them.

### Politicizing the workingmen

The workingmen are becoming antsy. They have no job nor money, and their families are going hungry. Leary reminds them that he's fighting for all of them and that change doesn't come overnight, but they're tired of waiting. They pay their dues on what little they make, and they're tired of waiting and watching the Chinese ride past every day on the way to their jobs. Leary reminds them that the mayor is on their side, and with him, they can force the coolies out. Leary then notices Sophie beaten and bruised and asks who did this to her. She reveals that Blake did it, but that he's also dead. He attacked her sister and was killed in the process by Jacob. With Blake gone, Leary wonders who is in charge.

Leary is concerned that the Chinese are straying from Chinatown more and more. Even with the entire police force, they're still outnumbered, but Leary is willing to tip the odds in Buckley's favor and proposes that Buckley deputize a workingman for every cop he has to double his reach, but it's simply not a reasonable request, and he declines Leary's offer. Still, Leary takes the time to remind Buckley of Mayor Blake's promises to the workingmen. Buckley informs Leary that Mayor Blake never gave a speech that he didn't put in his mouth.

Leary exits the Banshee to find his men beating Bill and lynching Jacob, who is accused of killing the Mayor. While he does nothing for Jacob, he helps Bill to his feet and then carries Sophie inside. She blames Leary for allowing them to kill Jacob, when all he did was protect Penny. Leary argues this was going to happen one way or another. He tells Sophie to go back home to her life of luxury, as she was never more than a tourist on their end to begin with. The lynching then leads to a riot in Chinatown, which leaves a lot of Leary's men dead and injured, which sets him off.

Leary and Bill have a drink together and discuss their respective moral dilemmas. He then confronts Bill for collecting for the Fung Hai, which he admits is true, but he buried them because they had him trapped. Bill assures Leary that it won't happen again, but for that, Leary informs him that a bill will come due.

Ah Sahm makes his way over to the Banshee and single-handedly takes out a few of the workingmen before grabbing a drink and challenging Leary to a fight. So, they head out back, where they trade blows, but Ah Sahm hits the ground first, though he quickly recovers and goes on the offensive, knocking Leary to the ground with a spinning kick. Leary eventually makes it back to his feet and the fight continues. Unfortunately, Ah Sahm takes a few too many punches and finds himself back on the ground. But he manages to pull himself back to his feet and regain the upper hand, hitting Leary with a combination of punches before kneeing him in the face. Leary then charges at Ah Sahm, but is stopped in his tracks when Ah Sahm delivers a heavy blow to Leary's chest, momentarily stopping his heart before finishing him off with a drop-kick. As he leaves, Ah Sahm warns them to stay out of Chinatown.

Leary attends a council meeting and reminds the council that there are 25,000 Chinese in the city and not a single one of them can vote. However, there are 30,000 Irish in the city, all of whom votes are controlled by Leary. Merriweather explains that they all want the Chinese gone, but he's already paying too much for steel and lumber, making it impossible for him to employ Irish labor. And so, this puts Leary at odds with his men, who are in dire need of jobs. Resorting to his old tactics, Leary delivers Merriweather his new lumber prices after paying Sanderson a visit last night. And now, Merriweather has the margins to hire Irish labor.

Leary accosts the Donahue boys and pull them off the job after learning from Merriweather that they've cost him money by attacking his Chinese laborers. He then confronts Buckley, who still hasn't delivered on his promise to outlaw Chinese labor, which he can't until after the election, which only frustrates Leary further. So, after being employed by Pierce to convince one of his competitors to play fair, Leary takes his frustrations out on Garrett and Conor Donahue, who challenge him to a fight.

As agreed, Leary approaches Douglas Strickland on behalf of Leonard Pierce to threaten him into playing fair. However, Strickland instead recruits Leary, seeing the potential in the power he holds as the leader of the Irish labor men. However, Leary is thinking too small. The problem he faces is systemic and if he wants to change that, he needs the type of political capital that comes with real power. After deciding to work alongside Strickland, Leary is confronted by Pierce, who Leary stabs in the hand with a fork for not showing the proper respect.

## Significant kills

* Hop Wei hatchet man — Leary kills a hatchet man with his own hatchet after he and his men are attacked while sneaking into Mercer Steele.

## Skills and abilities

Leary is a war vet. His training in the military is likely where he picked up his skills for demolitions and organization. While never seen using a gun, firearms training is standard in all military training. He's also a brutal street fighter and heavy hitter, with years of boxing experience . He and his men regularly holds fights outside the Banshee. It’s unknown how he learned to box (likely either the military or self taught) but his frequent matches at the Banshee has made him an seasoned combatant skilled enough to kill multiple Hop Wei hatchet men and hold his own with Ah Sahm twice.

## Appearances

* There's No China in the Bible
* John Chinaman
* The White Mountain
* The Blood and the Sh\*t (credit only)
* Chewed Up, Spit Out, and Stepped On
* The Tiger and the Fox (credit only)
* They Don't Pay Us Enough to Think
* Chinese Boxing
* If You're Going to Bow, Bow Low
* The Chinese Connection
* Not How We Do Business
* If You Don't See Blood, You Didn't Come to Play
* Not for a Drink, a F\*ck, or a G\*\*damn Prayer
* To a Man with a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail (credit only)
* If You Wait by the River Long Enough
* All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic
* Enter the Dragon
* Man on the Wall

* Exactly the Wrong Time to Get Proud
* Anything Short of a Blow to the Head
* No Time for F\*cking Chemistry

## Behind the scenes

* Leary is portrayed by Dean Jagger.
* The character of Dylan Leary is loosely based on Denis Kearney, the real-life labor union activist and anti-Chinese agitator who founded the Workingmen's Party in 1877. He was known for ending all of his speeches with the phrase, "And whatever happens, the Chinese must go."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Season 2, episode 10: ***Man on the Wall***
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Season 1, episode 1: ***The Itchy Onion***
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Season 2, episode 1: ***Learn to Endure, or Hire a Bodyguard***
4. ↑ Season 1, episode 2: ***There's No China in the Bible***
5. ↑ Season 1, episode 3: ***John Chinaman***
6. ↑ Season 1, episode 6: ***Chewed Up, Spit Out, and Stepped On***
7. ↑ Season 1, episode 8: ***They Don't Pay Us Enough to Think***
8. ↑ Season 1, episode 10: ***If You're Going to Bow, Bow Low***
9. ↑ Season 2, episode 2: ***The Chinese Connection***
10. ↑ Season 2, episode 3: ***Not How We Do Business***
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Season 2, episode 4: ***If You Don't See Blood, You Didn't Come to Play***
12. ↑ Season 2, episode 5: ***Not for a Drink, a F\*ck, or a G\*\*damn Prayer***
13. ↑ Season 2, episode 7: ***If You Wait by the River Long Enough***
14. ↑ Season 2, episode 8: ***All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic***
15. ↑ Season 2, episode 9: ***Enter the Dragon***
16. ↑ Season 3, episode 1: ***Exactly the Wrong Time to Get Proud***
17. ↑ Season 3, episode 2: ***Anything Short of a Blow to the Head***
18. ↑ Season 3, episode 3: ***No Time for F\*cking Chemistry***
19. ↑ Warrior: The Historical Inspiration for Dylan Leary - Den of Geek