The Knights of Hell MC was founded in 1976 by the three O'Sullivan brothers. Matthew had returned from the war in Vietnam about a year earlier and had been forced to struggle in order to establish a life at home. It was hard to return to American soil and adapt to life as a civilian, after having fought in the jungle with his brothers-in-arms.
The soldiers who returned from the war suffered from being abandoned by their country. Matthew connected with three other veterans from the Vietnam War: Marcus Malone, Timothy Murdoch, and Jeremy King.
These men had experienced the same kind of hardships as Matthew when they'd tried to establish their futures as war torn men. The O'Sullivan brothers, Matthew's veteran buddies, and their wives tied their life together and formed a strong bond of brotherhood and family. They found their strength in numbers and they supported each other through the ups and downs of everyday life.
Since none of the men had been able to get jobs after returning from the war, Mrs. Malone came up with the idea of letting the men start a business together doing what all of them knew best. Namely, cars and motorcycles. Thus, the Knights of the Round Table Garage & Car Wash was born. The Knights' garage attracted the attention of other men and, in turn, their women followed. It didn't take long until the club had been officially established in the city of Fall River, and Matthew was appointed President. His brother Jerry became his VP.
Time passed and the Knights of Hell MC had begun their slippery slope towards becoming a one-percenter club. Alliances were forged and broken with local criminal organizations of all kinds. However, the ever changing nature of business sometimes turned friendship into enmity. And, sometimes, back into friendship. It all depended on what benefitted the club's interests.
Decade after decade, the MC's loyalty to the Real IRA remains their longest standing relationship, as their supplier of illegal weapons and their main source of income. In order to have access to the ports that allowed their guns to travel freely across the Atlantic, the MC needed the access to Boston Harbor, deep in the heart of Boston Irish Mob territory. As the opioid crisis continued to sweep through the eastern seaboard, the MC took a strong stance against getting into the business of hard drugs; a position that not all of their rival MCs and other neighboring crime syndicates agreed with.
In March 1990, Matthew and Jerry O'Sullivan and the then Sergeant-at-Arms Liam Kavanagh landed themselves a 10 year imprisonment. The Mayor of the city had tried to swindle money from the club and the Club had to teach him a lesson. No one, not even the Mayor, could cheat the Knights. The prosecutor had wanted to sentence the men to life, for murder, but he was unable to prove that the club deliberately murdered the Mayor.
Losing their leaders and SAA meant a great conversation for the Club. For the men sentenced to spend years behind bars, life would change forever. Liam was a hothead and ended up on the wrong side of a Capo belonging to the Costa Nostra, which ultimately led to his death in April 1995, while still behind bars.
Matthew and Jerry O'Sullivan left the prison in March 2000 as bitter enemies. Jerry had been radicalized; he found a strong faith in the Catholic Church during his time in prison, while Matthew refused to acknowledge or respect his faith. Matthew returned to the MC, but Jerry left for Ireland and the IRA. The youngest O'Sullivan brother, Michael, was left trying to help keep the tenuous peace.
PRESENT DAY
The Club has been able to fly under the radar of the police for a couple of years now. Some say they have a holding hook on the new Mayor of the city as well as the police force. Some say it's because of all their charity galas held by the women of the club. The O'Sullivan family and the Knights of Hell were all about giving back to the city. Or so they say.
When Matthew was involved in an accident with the bike in 2006, the Knights needed a new President. Matthew was considered too old and the injuries made it unlikely that he would be able to ride again. As they all knew, the President had to be able to ride out in front to remain President.
Matthew's son Ryan seemed to be the most likely successor at the time. However, with Matthew and Jerry at each others' throats, the Irish on both sides of the Atlantic had their growing qualms about the Knights. Thankfully, neither brother had beef with their youngest brother, Michael. Michael the Mediator, the one whose motto was 'brains before bullets' always. Given the mounting tensions between the Knights, their rivals, and other business associates, the Club decided to vote in Michael O'Sullivan for President, in order to salvage their dealings.
On the other hand, there were also some who thought Michael was too soft. On Thanksgiving Day 2020, Michael was gunned down in a drive-by and suddenly, the crown was thrust onto Michael's reluctant son, Declan. And there our story begins...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to ~abrotherhood for the layouts & writeups.
We would also like to give credit to ~devilsknightsmo for much of the original history of the MC, which we decided to keep in order to allow for the smoothest transition of characters and lines plotted.