Liam O'Connell
O'ConnellDescription
Appearance
Liam stands at a modest 5'7'' and is quite well-built, very aware that he has to keep himself physically fit for his job within the Roxbury Gang. Not particularly vain, he can't often be bothered to brush his short, dark brown hair and as a result it's usually casually messy. Liam usually keeps his square jaw clean-shaven, and his face is complemented by dark brown eyes and an easy, relaxed smile.
His style of dressing, on the other hand, varies very much depending on where he is. At home, Liam will usually wear jeans and a t-shirt, but on the job - as per Cassidy Reid's recommendation - he'll often give himself a certain air of authority by wearing more formal shirts and pants. He does, however, have an incessant habit of not tucking in his shirt and will also often roll it up at the sleeves, much to his boss's irritation.
Personality
'Quick-tempered' is probably the first phrase that would come to mind if anybody who knew Liam well was asked to describe him. Aggressive and incapable of walking away from a fight, he won't hesitate to lash out at anybody who irritates him and there are very few people who can calm him down - one of them being his wife, Kelly. He also has a notoriously foul mouth, known for turning the air blue with curses if he's particularly angry. Quite physically strong, he's not averse to the occasional brawl and it's not entirely uncommon to see him with a bruise or a black eye from having gotten into a fight with someone.
Cassidy Reid always told Liam that because of his temper that he would never become Leader of the Roxbury Gang, but it was his loyalty that gained him his promotion to her most trusted employee. Although Liam has absolutely no qualms in killing or physically injuring people, he stands very firmly against betrayal, and would never even think to do anything like cheat on his wife or rat out on his colleagues. He also believes strongly in independence - if asked what he loves the most about his wife, Liam will immediately say it's that she's more than capable of taking care of herself without him.
Smarter than he often lets on, Liam probably could have done reasonably well at school if he hadn't always been busy skipping classes to work for the Roxbury Gang. He prides himself in not making mistakes very often, but when he does it's usually to do with letting his anger cloud his better judgement or his frequent inability to put his emotions aside and make cold, rational decisions. He also has an occasional rebellious streak, which sometimes leads him to do the exact opposite of what's asked of him and has in the past caused a few clashes with Cassidy. Interestingly enough, however, he's also the first to put down anybody who dares question their Leader, often supplying them with a few short, sharp words and a reminder that she didn't get to her position just by accident.
History
Born into a working-class family descended from Irish immigrants, in the Roxbury neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Liam grew up immersed in the Irish mob culture. Son of Seamus and Bridget O'Connell and second youngest out of three brothers and four sisters, Liam mostly just wanted to be noticed, and was very aware of how some people in his neighbourhood seemed to have respect without ever having to lift a finger. It was partly in order to gain a little of that respect - and partly to earn some cash that his family never really had - that Liam started helping out some of the lower-ranking mob members in his neighbourhood at the age of sixteen. Having always been strong and pretty intimidating when he wanted to be, Liam ended up becoming a bagman and was arrested for the first time before his eighteenth birthday - at which point he demonstrated how good he was at keeping a secret by not giving any information about his colleagues up to the cops. It was then that Cassidy Reid, who was rising within the organisation herself, began to keep an eye on Liam, believing he could be useful in the future.
At the age of twenty-six, Liam was working mainly in extortion and dealing with the organisation's richer 'customers'. It was on a visit to one particular man called Ciaran Buckley, who Liam would most definitely call 'lace curtain Irish', that he first met Kelly Hayes, who at the time was dating Ciaran. Finding himself unable to get her out of his head, he frequently made up excuses to pay a visit to Buckley more often than usual just in case she happened to be there. Although he often thought about going against his own principles, he stuck with them and waited until Kelly broken up with Ciaran to make his move. Soon, he and Kelly were dating - much to the distaste of Kelly's parents, who would have much rather she'd have gone out with somebody more wealthy. Liam always refused to lie to Kelly about his job, instead operating on a basis of answering truthfully anything she asked him but not telling her any more than that.
Two years after Liam and Kelly began dating, Cassidy Reid finally became Leader of the local mob and brought with her several changes, including a name inspired by the legendary Winter Hill Gang - the Roxbury Gang. She also promoted Liam to her number one, and, preferring to keep a certain distance from the active work of the mob, started giving out most of her orders through him. Most importantly for Liam, however, the promotion also brought with it an excellent pay rise, and he was able to buy Kelly a ring to propose to her - which he did whilst the two were having a walk by the Charles River. Having been married now for three years, he lives with Kelly in Roxbury and retains his position as the person Cassidy trusts the most within the Roxbury Gang. Recently, he's been hearing a great deal from Cassidy about a new criminal gang from New York starting to worm their way into Boston that might possibly cause some trouble - and Liam's more than willing to take on the challenge of showing them who the city truly belongs to.
Details
Personal
- Nationality
American Bay Stater- Born
- 5th June 2084
- Age
- 32
- Height
- 5'7"
- Gender
- Male
Background
- Hometown
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Civilian
- Association
- Boston Police Department
- Role
- Special Assistant
Factoids
There are facts available about this character which may aid your knowledge.
- Liam is left-handed.
Associates
Married to Liam O'Connell, Kelly is originally from Beacon Hill and is now residing in the Roxbury area of Boston. Having recently given birth to twins, she has been struggling to balance looking after the twins with looking after her only mental and emotional well being. A number of events have put a strain on her marriage to Liam but they are working through their differences. A kick-boxing instructor, Kelly is slowly returning to her career and leading a more well balanced life.
Even at a very young age, Erin seems to have taken after her father, compared to her brother. She is the oldest of the pair and was conceived around Christmas. Her conception could be seen as bringing her parents back together after Kelly found out the truth about her husband.
Compared with his sister, Mark is very much a mommy's boy. He was named after Kelly McCree's first child who unfortunately died. Even now he doesn't like straying far from his mother's side. Along with Erin, he helped to bring his parents back together when he was conceived.
Seamus is - although many would swear otherwise - the oldest child of the O'Connell family and shares his name with his father, leading his brothers and sisters to often refer to him as 'Junior'. Perhaps because his sister Bridget never hesitated in taking on the burden that should have belonged to him, Junior never saw any need to act as a role model to his younger siblings and throughout most of his youth could at best be described as immature and irresponsible. His marriage to Caitlin Keane in 2097 was all but arranged by both the Keane family and the O'Connell family, and Junior himself would probably be the first to admit that his children were the only good outcome of it, even if they weren't quite enough to stop him from straying from his wife on more than one occasion. An affair with a co-worker at his old office job caused Junior to find himself amidst the ranks of the unemployed, whereas old flame Kerry McCarthy's recent death led Junior to discover he had an extra son, Sean McCarthy. This revelation proved to be too much for Caitlin O'Connell to take, and she committed suicide on the 31st January, 2116. Junior is now a single father to five children and lives in Kerry McCarthy's old house - although he runs her old hardware store, however, the building is no longer used for arms trading.
Born Bridget O'Connell Jr., Bridge is the second of seven O'Connell children and the oldest girl. Growing up as part of the relatively low income O'Connell family in the Boston neighbourhood of Roxbury, Bridget - or Bridge, as she was often known to differentiate between her and her mother - assumed her older brother's burden of responsibility and took it upon herself to look out for her remaining six siblings. As a result, Bridge is probably the most calm and composed of the O'Connells and definitely the most capable of putting emotion aside when necessary. Bridge fulfilled her dream of starting a family of her own when she married white-collar worker Desmond Walsh in 2101 and, three years later, gave birth to her first daughter, Caroline Walsh. Her second daughter, Fiona, was born in 2109. After Caroline Walsh was murdered by a member of the Gargoyles as retribution for Liam O'Connell having ordered the death of Andrea Costigan's aunt, Caroline Scott, the devastated family decided to move away from Boston and resided for three months in Providence, Rhode Island. During that time, Bridge's discovery that she was pregnant restored some of the family faith, causing Bridge to return to Roxbury for her younger sister Susannah's wedding with the intention of staying.
Happily married to Oscar Quinn, with an adopted daughter and the possibility of a second child through surrogacy, Laura has always fought to make a way for herself in the midst of her family. She was the first O'Connell sibling to go to university, the first to move out properly and start a well paying career. Despite her efforts, for most of her life she felt like she was being eclipsed by Susannah. The phrase "anything you can do I can do better" seemed to apply for her sister. This, coupled with the rocky portion of her parents' marriage when Susannah was born which a young Laura associated with Susannah's birth, led to a resentment of her for many years. It is only in recent weeks that she has begun to repair her relationship with her.
Shannon is the fourth of seven O'Connell children and the second youngest girl. Growing up, she was very close to her younger sister, Susannah, and her older sister, Laura. Despite this, Shannon is probably the feistiest and least stereotypically 'girly' of the four O'Connell women; from a very young age was a big fan of almost every kind of sport apart from baseball, which the rest of her family was passionate about. Although Shannon's family was surprised when at the age of thirty-five she announced she was engaged and pregnant, they weren't surprised to find her future husband was an athlete: Owen Flynn, a basketball player for the Boston Celtics. Shannon took maternity leave from her job as a sports journalist for the local newspaper and gave birth to her first son, Colin Donald Flynn, on the 25th January, 2116. Shannon and Owen have since broken off their engagement, and currently lives with her son in a small apartment in Roxbury.
Donnie was the youngest of seven O'Connell children and grew up reaping the benefits of being the laid-back, carefree baby of the family. Although when he was younger he was close to both his older siblings, Liam and Susannah, Donnie wasn't ever particularly bright and most recently had distanced himself from both of them. He worked for the Roxbury Gang as a small-time drug dealer, but much to his older brother's disdain could often be found selling in the wrong parts of Boston as well as sampling some of his merchandise himself. Donnie had never been interested in finding a wife and settling down in a long-term relationship until the realisation that his brother Liam was going to become a father gave him a harsh wake-up call. He asked his then-girlfriend Chloe Graham to marry him, but when she refused Donnie ended up turning to drugs and in his altered state was hit by a speeding vehicle. Having suffered severe spinal chord injuries, he later died in hospital.
Elegant and sophisticated, the former Leader of the Roxbury Gang was, in appearance at least, anything but what would stereotypically be expected of a woman in her position. Very little was known about Cassidy aside from the fact that she had lived in Roxbury her entire life and began making her way up the ranks of the local gang from a very young age, but she rather enjoyed the mystery surrounding her. In fact, much like she did with her seemingly non-threatening appearance, Cassidy often used the general lack of knowledge about her to her advantage. With striking features, wavy red hair and green eyes, Cassidy was still in good shape at forty-five and it was doubtlessly her cold, steady hand that kept the Roxbury Gang functioning. Having worked her way up to Leader, however, Cassidy felt she no longer has to do the dirty work for herself and gave out most of her orders through her right-hand man, Liam O'Connell. She was mysteriously found dead by the staff of the Boston Kitchen, one of the many restaurants she owned, on the 25th August, 2116, with one bullet wound in her stomach and another in her head.
