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George Harrison Papers

Call Number

AIA.009

Dates

1925-2003, inclusive
; 1970-2000, bulk

Creator

Harrison, George, 1915-2004
Durkan, Frank, 1930-2006 (Role: Donor)
O'Dwyer & Bernstien (Role: Donor)

Extent

21.75 Linear Feet
in 17 record cartons, 1 manuscript box, 2 oversize flat boxes, and 5 oversize folders.

Language of Materials

Majority of materials are in English; some in Spanish, French.

Abstract

George Harrison (1915-2004) was a socialist and revolutionary Irish Republican who spent his life supporting the causes of oppressed peoples around the globe. The collection consists of correspondence, legal files, memoranda, publications, ephemera, financial records, photographs, and material objects. The materials document his family history, Harrison's gunrunning trial, and political affiliations and involvements. This collection includes materials from many organizations in which Harrison was active during the period 1970-1995, especially the Irish American Defense Fund, the Irish Republican Socialist Committee of North America, the National Graves Association, and Republican Sinn Fein. The materials also reflect his interests in liberation movements in South Africa, Cuba, Latin America, Palestine and the Philippines, particularly through a collection of political buttons.

Biographical Note

George Harrison (1915-2004) was a socialist and revolutionary Irish Republican who spent his life supporting the causes of oppressed peoples. Harrison was born in Shammer, Kilkelly, County Mayo, Ireland on May 2, 1915. As a youth he served in the East Mayo Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War (1922-1923). He immigrated to the United States in 1938 and served as an infantryman in the United States Army in the Pacific Theater of World War II. In 1948 Harrison began working as an armored car guard with Brinks, Inc. but was suspended in 1981 because of criminal charges filed against him.

Harrison was arrested on June 23, 1981 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for violations of federal firearms laws. He, along with four others, was charged with running guns to the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the high-profile U.S. vs. Harrison, Falvey, Mullen, Gormley, and Flannery case argued in the Eastern District of New York Federal Court. Frank Durkan, also from County Mayo and a nephew of New York City lawyer and politician Paul O'Dwyer, represented Harrison, acknowledging that Harrison had shipped guns to Republicans in Ireland but arguing that American's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was complicit in the act. He was acquitted in 1982 and subsequently reinstated by Brinks with back pay in accordance with the order of a federal labor arbitrator (see folder Local 807 IBT vs. Brinks).

He retired from the company in the mid-1980s, but remained active in political causes, including opposition to racism and apartheid, as well as providing aid to Palestinians, Chileans, and other victims of poverty or injustices. Through his life, Harrison was active in many charitable endeavors, like providing funds to build a new parish church in his native town during the 1950s. He supported Irish American organizations that advocated the union of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, and came to the aid of Irish Republican prisoners held in the United States, Ireland, or Great Britain. He supported socialist political causes, but was also active in the New York City mayoral campaign of David Dinkins and the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson and Bill Clinton.

George Harrison died at his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn on October 6, 2004.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in six series, each of which is arranged alphabetically by subject or title.

  1. Personal, 1964-2001
  2. Organizations and Memberships, 1925-2000
  3. Pamphlets and Publications, 1937-2003
  4. Oversize Materials: Publications and Fliers, 1963-1995
  5. Photographs, 1982-1998
  6. Ephemera, 1970-2000

Scope and Contents

The George Harrison Papers consist of correspondence, pamphlets, flyers, photographs, buttons, legal documents, memoranda, publications, research files, and material objects documenting Harrison's political activities and affiliations. The collection includes materials from numerous organizations in which Harrison was active during the 1970s through the mid-1990s, especially the Irish American Defense Fund, the Irish Republican Socialist Committee of North America, the National Graves Association, and Republican Sinn Fein. The materials, especially his collection of political buttons, also reflect his interest in liberation movements in South Africa, Cuba, Latin America, Palestine, and the Philippines. The papers also document Harrison's 1981-1982 defense against charges of gunrunning to the Provisional Irish Republican Army tried in the Eastern District of New York Federal Court case U.S. vs. Harrison, Falvey, Mullen, Gormley, and Flannery.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by George Harrison, the creator of this collection, were transferred to New York University in 1997 and 2005. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; George Harrison Papers; AIA 009; box number; folder number; Archives of Irish America/Tamiment Library, 70 Washington Square South, New York University Libraries, New York, NY 10012.

Location of Materials

Materials stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to research visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials were donated in 1999 and 1997 by George Harrison, and in 2005 by Franck Durkel of O'Dwyer & Bernstien, executor of George Harrison's will.

Custodial History

George Harrison contacted the Archives of Irish America in 1997 through Angela M. Carter, at that time proprietor of Irish Books and Graphics. Ten boxes of material were accessioned from Harrison's apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn by Marion Casey in November 1997 and an additional eleven boxes of books and testimonials were donated by O'Dwyer & Bernstien in April 2005, acting as the executors of Harrison's estate. The accession number associated with this collection is 1997.069. Posters and framed memorabilia found in repository were added to this collection in 2015. The accession number associated with these materials is 2015.043. George Harrison sent an additional box of posters and memorabilia related to his involvement in human rights activism in 1999. The accession number associated with this gift is 2017.006.

Appraisal

In 2017, several t-shirts and a hat related to political rallies and campaigns were assessed as having minimal research value and were removed from the collection. These items had been included as part of a 1999 accretion added to the collection in 2017.

Separated Materials

Six boxes of books were removed from the manuscript collection to be cataloged as part of the Tamiment Library book collection. Issues of The Irish People, The Sovereign Nation, Irish Democrat, and Saoirse were separated to the Archives of Irish America Newspapers and Periodicals Collection (AIA 004)

Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

Frank Durkan Papers AIA 008

Sean Prendiville Papers AIA 005

Jane Conlon Muller Oral History Collection AIA 012

Brian McGinn Papers AIA 015

Irish Republicanism Collection AIA 022

Sean Cronin Papers TAM 460

Printed Ephemera Collection of Organizational Files PE 036

Collection processed by

Alice Naughton, Mary Kriock, Marion Casey, Rebecca Altermatt

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 13:54:58 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid is in English

Processing Information

Information about processing decisions made prior to 2017 has not been recorded. In 2017, one small box and three oversize folders containing memorabilia and posters were added to the collection. These materials were described in the file-list and integrated into Series VI: Ephemera and Materials Objects.

Revisions to this Guide

September 2012: Edited by Rachel Searcy for compliance with DACS and Tamiment Required Elements for Archival Description,
June 2014: edited by Bonnie Gordon to reflect updated administrative information,
March 2017: edited by Heather Mulliner to reflect the incorporation of 2017 accession, and
July 2019: edited by Amy C. Vo to reflect rehousing changes
February 2020: Edited by Megan O'Shea to reflect rehousing and description of previously unprocessed materials

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012