Hatfield–McCoy feud
Between 1880 and 1891, the feud claimed more than a dozen members of the two families. On one occasion, the governors of West Virginia and Kentucky even threatened to have their militias invade each other's states. In response, Kentucky Governor S. B. Buckner sent his Adjutant General Sam Hill to Pike County to investigate the situation. More than a dozen people died and at least 10 people were wounded. A few days after the New Year's Massacre, a posse led by Pike county deputy sheriff Frank Philipps rode out to track down Devil Anse's group across the border into West Virginia. The posse's first victim was Jim Vance, who was killed in the woods after he refused to be arrested. Philipps then made other successive raids on Hatfield homes and supporters and captured three before cornering the rest in Grapevine Creek on 19 January. Unfortunately for Philipps, Devil Anse and other Hatfields were waiting for them with an armed group of their own. A battle ensued between the two parties, and the Hatfields were eventually apprehended. Two Hatfield supporters were killed, and a deputy, Bill Dempsey, was executed by Frank Philipps after they surrendered. Wall Hatfield and eight others were arrested and brought to Kentucky to stand trial for the murder of Alifair McCoy (sometimes spelled Allaphare, Randolph's young daughter), killed during the New Year's Massacre.
Limerick feud
While feuding in parts of the city goes back decades, the present feud can be traced back to a dispute between gang boss Christy Keane and close associate, Eddie Ryan, in 2000. Keane, a major drug dealer and leader of the Keane-Collopy gang, and Ryan, the gang's main enforcer, had a bitter falling-out after a series of violent incidents involving relatives of the men. On the afternoon of Friday, 10 November 2000, an attempt was made on the life of Christy Keane as he was collecting his son from school at Ignatious Rice College on Shelbourne Avenue. A gunman, believed to be Eddie Ryan, approached him as he sat in his car and he tried to shoot Keane, but the gun jammed and Keane escaped with his life. Two nights later as forty-year-old Ryan was drinking in the Moose Bar in Cathedral Place, two gunmen entered and shot him dead. Ryan's son Keiran, who almost certainly would have been killed as well, survived as he had gone to the toilet seconds before the killers arrived at the bar. The gunmen were believed to be Keiran Keane, a brother of Christy, and Philip Collopy. As well as dozens of other serious incidents over the following year, there were at least 30 petrol bomb and gun attacks on the home of Eddie Ryan's brother, John.